The β,ϵ-carotenoid, lutein, is specifically required for the formation of the oligomeric forms of the light harvesting complex in the green alga, scenedesmus obliquus

The Loroxanthin Cycle: A New Type of Xanthophyll Cycle in Green Algae (Chlorophyta)

Xanthophyll cycles (XC) have proven to be major contributors to photoacclimation for many organisms. This work describes a light-driven XC operating in the chlorophyte Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and involving the xanthophylls Lutein (L) and Loroxanthin (Lo). Pigments were quantified during a switch from high to low light (LL) and at different time points from cells grown in Day/Night cycle. Trimeric LHCII was purified from cells acclimated to high or LL and their pigment content and spectroscopic properties were characterized. The Lo/(L + Lo) ratio in the cells varies by a factor of 10 between cells grown in low or high light (HL) leading to a change in the Lo/(L + Lo) ratio in trimeric LHCII from .5 in low light to .07 in HL. Trimeric LhcbMs binding Loroxanthin have 5 ± 1% higher excitation energy (EE) transfer (EET) from carotenoid to Chlorophyll as well as higher thermo- and photostability than trimeric LhcbMs that only bind Lutein. The Loroxanthin cycle operates on long time scales (hours to days) and likely evolved as a shade adaptation. It has many similarities with the Lutein-epoxide - Lutein cycle (LLx) of plants.

Influence of the Carotenoid Composition on the Conformational Dynamics of Photosynthetic Light-Harvesting Complexes

Nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) is the major self-regulatory mechanism of green plants, performed on a molecular level to protect them from an overexcitation during the direct sunlight. It is believed that NPQ becomes available due to conformational dynamics of the light-harvesting photosynthetic complexes and involves a direct participation of carotenoids. In this work, we perform a single-molecule microscopy on major light-harvesting complexes (LHCII) from different Arabidopsis thaliana mutants exhibiting various carotenoid composition. We show how the distinct carotenoids affect the dynamics of the conformational switching between multiple coexisting light-emitting states of LHCII and demonstrate that properties of the quenched conformation are not influenced by the particular carotenoids available in LHCII. We also discuss the possible origin of different conformational states and relate them to the fluorescence decay kinetics observed during the bulk measurements.

An In Vivo Quantitative Comparison of Photoprotection in Arabidopsis Xanthophyll Mutants

Contribution of different LHCII antenna carotenoids to protective NPQ (pNPQ) were tested using a range of xanthophyll biosynthesis mutants of Arabidopsis: plants were either devoid of lutein (lut2), violaxanthin (npq2), or synthesized a single xanthophyll species, namely violaxanthin (aba4npq1lut2), zeaxanthin (npq2lut2), or lutein (chy1chy2lut5). A novel pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorescence analysis procedure, that used a gradually increasing actinic light intensity, allowed the efficiency of pNPQ to be tested using the photochemical quenching (qP) parameter measured in the dark (qPd). Furthermore, the yield of photosystem II (ΦPSII) was calculated, and the light intensity which induces photoinhibition in 50% of leaves for each mutant was ascertained. Photoprotective capacities of each xanthophyll were quantified, taking into account chlorophyll a/b ratios and excitation pressure. Here, light tolerance, pNPQ capacity, and ΦPSII were highest in wild type plants. Of the carotenoid mutants, lut2 (lutein-deficient) plants had the highest light tolerance, and the joint the highest ΦPSII with violaxanthin only plants. We conclude that all studied mutants possess pNPQ and a more complete composition of xanthophylls in their natural binding sites is the most important factor governing photoprotection, rather than any one specific xanthophyll suggesting a strong structural effect of the molecules upon the LHCII antenna organization and discuss the results significance for future crop development.

Product stability and sequestration mechanisms in Solanum tuberosum engineered to biosynthesize high value ketocarotenoids

To produce commercially valuable ketocarotenoids in Solanum tuberosum, the 4, 4' β-oxygenase (crtW) and 3, 3' β-hydroxylase (crtZ) genes from Brevundimonas spp. have been expressed in the plant host under constitutive transcriptional control. The CRTW and CRTZ enzymes are capable of modifying endogenous plant carotenoids to form a range of hydroxylated and ketolated derivatives. The host (cv. Désirée) produced significant levels of nonendogenous carotenoid products in all tissues, but at the apparent expense of the economically critical metabolite, starch. Carotenoid levels increased in both wild-type and transgenic tubers following cold storage; however, stability during heat processing varied between compounds. Subcellular fractionation of leaf tissues revealed the presence of ketocarotenoids in thylakoid membranes, but not predominantly in the photosynthetic complexes. A dramatic increase in the carotenoid content of plastoglobuli was determined. These findings were corroborated by microscopic analysis of chloroplasts. In tuber tissues, esterified carotenoids, representing 13% of the total pigment found in wild-type extracts, were sequestered in plastoglobuli. In the transgenic tubers, this proportion increased to 45%, with esterified nonendogenous carotenoids in place of endogenous compounds. Conversely, nonesterified carotenoids in both wild-type and transgenic tuber tissues were associated with amyloplast membranes and starch granules.

Carotenoids, versatile components of oxygenic photosynthesis

Carotenoids (CARs) are a group of pigments that perform several important physiological functions in all kingdoms of living organisms. CARs serve as protective agents, which are essential structural components of photosynthetic complexes and membranes, and they play an important role in the light harvesting mechanism of photosynthesizing plants and cyanobacteria. The protection against reactive oxygen species, realized by quenching of singlet oxygen and the excited states of photosensitizing molecules, as well as by the scavenging of free radicals, is one of the main biological functions of CARs. X-ray crystallographic localization of CARs revealed that they are present at functionally and structurally important sites of both the PSI and PSII reaction centers. Characterization of a CAR-less cyanobacterial mutant revealed that while the absence of CARs prevents the formation of PSII complexes, it does not abolish the assembly and function of PSI. CAR molecules assist in the formation of protein subunits of the photosynthetic complexes by gluing together their protein components. In addition to their aforementioned indispensable functions, CARs have a substantial role in the formation and maintenance of proper cellular architecture, and potentially also in the protection of the translational machinery under stress conditions.

The lutein epoxide cycle in higher plants: its relationships to other xanthophyll cycles and possible functions

Several xanthophyll cycles have been described in photosynthetic organisms. Among them, only two are present in higher plants: the ubiquitous violaxanthin (V) cycle, and the taxonomically restricted lutein epoxide (Lx) cycle, whereas four cycles seem to occur in algae. Although V is synthesised through the β-branch of the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway and Lx is the product of the α-branch; both are co-located in the same sites of the photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes isolated from thylakoids. Both xanthophylls are also de-epoxidised upon light exposure by the same enzyme, violaxanthin de-epoxidase (VDE) leading to the formation of zeaxanthin (Z) and lutein (L) at comparable rates. In contrast with VDE, the reverse reaction presumably catalysed by zeaxanthin epoxidase (ZE), is much slower (or even inactive) with L than with antheraxanthin (A) or Z. Consequently many species lack Lx altogether, and although the presence of Lx shows an irregular taxonomical distribution in unrelated taxa, it has a high fidelity at family level. In those plants which accumulate Lx, variations in ZE activity in vivo mean that a complete Lx-cycle occurs in some (with Lx pools being restored overnight), whereas in others a truncated cycle is observed in which VDE converts Lx into L, but regeneration of Lx by ZE is extremely slow. Accumulation of Lx to high concentrations is found most commonly in old leaves in deeply shaded canopies, and the Lx cycle in these leaves is usually truncated. This seemingly anomalous situation presumably arises because ZE has a low but finite affinity for L, and because deeply shaded leaves are not often exposed to light intensities strong enough to activate VDE. Notably, both in vitro and in vivo studies have recently shown that accumulation of Lx can increase the light harvesting efficiency in the antennae of PSII. We propose a model for the truncated Lx cycle in strong light in which VDE converts Lx to L which then occupies sites L2 and V1 in the light-harvesting antenna complex of PSII (Lhcb), displacing V and Z. There is correlative evidence that this photoconverted L facilitates energy dissipation via non-photochemical quenching and thereby converts a highly efficient light harvesting system to an energy dissipating system with improved capacity to engage photoprotection. Operation of the α- and β-xanthophyll cycles with different L and Z epoxidation kinetics thus allows a combination of rapidly and slowly reversible modulation of light harvesting and photoprotection, with each cycle having distinct effects. Based on the patchy taxonomical distribution of Lx, we propose that the presence of Lx (and the Lx cycle) could be the result of a recurrent mutation in the epoxidase gene that increases its affinity for L, which is conserved whenever it confers an evolutionary advantage.

Pigment binding of photosystem I light-harvesting proteins

Light-harvesting complexes (LHC) of higher plants are composed of at least 10 different proteins. Despite their pronounced amino acid sequence homology, the LHC of photosystem II show differences in pigment binding that are interpreted in terms of partly different functions. By contrast, there is only scarce knowledge about the pigment composition of LHC of photosystem I, and consequently no concept of potentially different functions of the various LHCI exists. For better insight into this issue, we isolated native LHCI-730 and LHCI-680. Pigment analyses revealed that LHCI-730 binds more chlorophyll and violaxanthin than LHCI-680. For the first time all LHCI complexes are now available in their recombinant form; their analysis allowed further dissection of pigment binding by individual LHCI proteins and analysis of pigment requirements for LHCI formation. By these different approaches a correlation between the requirement of a single chlorophyll species for LHC formation and the chlorophyll a/b ratio of LHCs could be detected, and indications regarding occupation of carotenoid-binding sites were obtained. Additionally the reconstitution approach allowed assignment of spectral features observed in native LHCI-680 to its components Lhca2 and Lhca3. It is suggested that excitation energy migrates from chlorophyll(s) fluorescing at 680 (Lhca3) via those fluorescing at 686/702 nm (Lhca2) or 720 nm (Lhca3) to the photosystem I core chlorophylls.

Xanthophyll biosynthetic mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana: altered nonphotochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence is due to changes in Photosystem II antenna size and stability

Xanthophylls (oxygen derivatives of carotenes) are essential components of the plant photosynthetic apparatus. Lutein, the most abundant xanthophyll, is attached primarily to the bulk antenna complex, light-harvesting complex (LHC) II. We have used mutations in Arabidopsis thaliana that selectively eliminate (and substitute) specific xanthophylls in order to study their function(s) in vivo. These include two lutein-deficient mutants, lut1 and lut2, the epoxy xanthophyll-deficient aba1 mutant and the lut2aba1 double mutant. Photosystem stoichiometry, antenna sizes and xanthophyll cycle activity have been related to alterations in nonphotochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence (NPQ). Nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis indicates reduced stability of trimeric LHC II in the absence of lutein (and/or epoxy xanthophylls). Photosystem (antenna) size and stoichiometry is altered in all mutants relative to wild type (WT). Maximal DeltapH-dependent NPQ (qE) is reduced in the following order: WT>aba1>lut1 approximately lut2>lut2aba1, paralleling reduction in Photosystem (PS) II antenna size. Finally, light-activation of NPQ shows that zeaxanthin and antheraxanthin present constitutively in lut mutants are not qE active, and hence, the same can be inferred of the lutein they replace. Thus, a direct involvement of lutein in the mechanism of qE is unlikely. Rather, altered NPQ in xanthophyll biosynthetic mutants is explained by disturbed macro-organization of LHC II and reduced PS II-antenna size in the absence of the optimal, wild-type xanthophyll composition. These data suggest the evolutionary conservation of lutein content in plants was selected for due to its unique ability to optimize antenna structure, stability and macro-organization for efficient regulation of light-harvesting under natural environmental conditions.

Absence of lutein, violaxanthin and neoxanthin affects the functional chlorophyll antenna size of photosystem-II but not that of photosystem-I in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii double mutant npq2 lor1 lacks the beta, epsilon-carotenoids lutein and loroxanthin as well as all beta,beta-epoxycarotenoids derived from zeaxanthin (e.g. violaxanthin and neoxanthin). Thus, the only carotenoids present in the thylakoid membranes of the npq2 lor1 cells are beta-carotene and zeaxanthin. The effect of these mutations on the photochemical apparatus assembly and function was investigated. In cells of the mutant strain, the content of photosystem-II (PSII) and photosystem-I (PSI) was similar to that of the wild type, but npq2 lor1 had a significantly smaller PSII light-harvesting Chl antenna size. In contrast, the Chl antenna size of PSI was not truncated in the mutant. SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis qualitatively revealed the presence of all LHCII and LHCI apoproteins in the thylakoid membrane of the mutant. The results showed that some of the LHCII and most of the LHCI were assembled and functionally connected with PSII and PSI, respectively. Photon conversion efficiency measurements, based on the initial slope of the light-saturation curve of photosynthesis and on the yield of Chl a fluorescence in vivo, showed similar efficiencies. However, a significantly greater light intensity was required for the saturation of photosynthesis in the mutant than in the wild type. It is concluded that zeaxanthin can successfully replace lutein and violaxanthin in most of the functional light-harvesting antenna of the npq2 lor1 mutant.

Genetic manipulation of carotenoid biosynthesis and photoprotection

There are multiple complementary and redundant mechanisms to provide protection against photo-oxidative damage, including non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). NPQ dissipates excess excitation energy as heat by using xanthophylls in combination with changes to the light-harvesting complex (LHC) antenna. The xanthophylls are oxygenated carotenoids that in addition to contributing to NPQ can quench singlet or triplet chlorophyll and are necessary for the assembly and stability of the antenna. We have genetically manipulated the expression of the epsilon-cyclase and beta-carotene hydroxylase carotenoid biosynthetic enzymes in Arabidopsis thaliana. The epsilon-cyclase overexpression confirmed that lut2 (lutein deficient) is a mutation in the epsilon-cyclase gene and demonstrated that lutein content can be altered at the level of mRNA abundance with levels ranging from 0 to 180% of wild-type. Also, it is clear that lutein affects the induction and extent of NPQ. The deleterious effects of lutein deficiency on NPQ in Arabidopsis and Chlamydomonas are additive, no matter what the genetic background, whether npq1 (zeaxanthin deficient), aba1 or antisense beta-hydroxylase (xanthophyll cycle pool decreased). Additionally, increasing lutein content causes a marginal, but significant, increase in the rate of induction of NPQ despite a reduction in the xanthophyll cycle pool size.

Molecular genetics of xanthophyll-dependent photoprotection in green algae and plants

The involvement of excited and highly reactive intermediates in oxygenic photosynthesis inevitably results in the generation of reactive oxygen species. To protect the photosynthetic apparatus from oxidative damage, xanthophyll pigments are involved in the quenching of excited chlorophyll and reactive oxygen species, namely 1Chl*, 3Chl*, and 1O2*. Quenching of 1Chl* results in harmless dissipation of excitation energy as heat and is measured as non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) of chlorophyll fluorescence. The multiple roles of xanthophylls in photoprotection are being addressed by characterizing mutants of Chlarnydomonas reinhardtii and Arabidopsis thaliana. Analysis of Arabidopsis mutants that are defective in 1Chl* quenching has shown that, in addition to specific xanthophylls, the psbS gene is necessary for NPQ. Double mutants of Chlamydomonas and Arabidopsis that are deficient in zeaxanthin, lutein and NPQ undergo photo-oxidative bleaching in high light. Extragenic suppressors of the Chlamydomonas npq1 lor1 double mutant identify new mutations that restore varying levels of zeaxanthin accumulation and allow survival in high light.

Carotenoid binding sites in LHCIIb. Relative affinities towards major xanthophylls of higher plants

The major light-harvesting complex of photosystem II can be reconstituted in vitro from its bacterially expressed apoprotein with chlorophylls a and b and neoxanthin, violaxanthin, lutein, or zeaxanthin as the only xanthophyll. Reconstitution of these one-carotenoid complexes requires low-stringency conditions during complex formation and isolation. Neoxanthin complexes (containing 30-50% of the all-trans isomer) disintegrate during electrophoresis, exhibit a largely reduced resistance against proteolytic attack; in addition, energy transfer from Chl b to Chl a is easily disrupted at elevated temperature. Complexes reconstituted in the presence of either zeaxanthin or lutein contain nearly two xanthophylls per 12 chlorophylls and are more resistant against trypsin. Lutein-LHCIIb also exhibits an intermediate maintenance of energy transfer at higher temperature. Violaxanthin complexes approach a xanthophyll/12 chlorophyll ratio of 3, similar to the ratio in recombinant LHCIIb containing all xanthophylls. On the other hand, violaxanthin-LHCIIb exhibits a low thermal stability like neoxanthin complexes, but an intermediate accessibility towards trypsin, similar to lutein-LHCIIb and zeaxanthin-LHCIIb. Binary competition experiments were performed with two xanthophylls at varying ratios in the reconstitution. Analysis of the xanthophyll contents in the reconstitution products yielded information about relative carotenoid affinities of three assumed binding sites. In lutein/neoxanthin competition experiments, two binding sites showed a strong preference (> 200-fold) for lutein, whereas the third binding site had a higher affinity (25-fold) to neoxanthin. Competition between lutein and violaxanthin gave a similar result, although the specificities were lower: two binding sites have a 36-fold preference for lutein and one has a fivefold preference for violaxanthin. The lowest selectivity was between lutein and zeaxanthin: two binding sites had a fivefold higher affinity for lutein and one has a threefold higher affinity to zeaxanthin.

PHOTOPROTECTION REVISITED:Genetic and Molecular Approaches

The involvement of excited and highly reactive intermediates in oxygenic photosynthesis poses unique problems for algae and plants in terms of potential oxidative damage to the photosynthetic apparatus. Photoprotective processes prevent or minimize generation of oxidizing molecules, scavenge reactive oxygen species efficiently, and repair damage that inevitably occurs. This review summarizes several photoprotective mechanisms operating within chloroplasts of plants and green algae. The recent use of genetic and molecular biological approaches is providing new insights into photoprotection, especially with respect to thermal dissipation of excess absorbed light energy, alternative electron transport pathways, chloroplast antioxidant systems, and repair of photosystem II.

Altered xanthophyll compositions adversely affect chlorophyll accumulation and nonphotochemical quenching in Arabidopsis mutants

Collectively, the xanthophyll class of carotenoids perform a variety of critical roles in light harvesting antenna assembly and function. The xanthophyll composition of higher plant photosystems (lutein, violaxanthin, and neoxanthin) is remarkably conserved, suggesting important functional roles for each. We have taken a molecular genetic approach in Arabidopsis toward defining the respective roles of individual xanthophylls in vivo by using a series of mutant lines that selectively eliminate and substitute a range of xanthophylls. The mutations, lut1 and lut2 (lut = lutein deficient), disrupt lutein biosynthesis. In lut2, lutein is replaced mainly by a stoichiometric increase in violaxanthin and antheraxanthin. A third mutant, aba1, accumulates normal levels of lutein and substitutes zeaxanthin for violaxanthin and neoxanthin. The lut2aba1 double mutant completely lacks lutein, violaxanthin, and neoxanthin and instead accumulates zeaxanthin. All mutants were viable in soil and had chlorophyll a/b ratios ranging from 2.9 to 3.5 and near wild-type rates of photosynthesis. However, mutants accumulating zeaxanthin exhibited a delayed greening virescent phenotype, which was most severe and often lethal when zeaxanthin was the only xanthophyll present. Chlorophyll fluorescence quenching kinetics indicated that both zeaxanthin and lutein contribute to nonphotochemical quenching; specifically, lutein contributes, directly or indirectly, to the rapid rise of nonphotochemical quenching. The results suggest that the normal complement of xanthophylls, while not essential, is required for optimal assembly and function of the light harvesting antenna in higher plants.

The roles of specific xanthophylls in photoprotection

Xanthophyll pigments have critical structural and functional roles in the photosynthetic light-harvesting complexes of algae and vascular plants. Genetic dissection of xanthophyll metabolism in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii revealed functions for specific xanthophylls in the nonradiative dissipation of excess absorbed light energy, measured as nonphotochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence. Mutants with a defect in either the alpha- or beta-branch of carotenoid biosynthesis exhibited less nonphotochemical quenching but were still able to tolerate high light. In contrast, a double mutant that was defective in the synthesis of lutein, loroxanthin (alpha-carotene branch), zeaxanthin, and antheraxanthin (beta-carotene branch) had almost no nonphotochemical quenching and was extremely sensitive to high light. These results strongly suggest that in addition to the xanthophyll cycle pigments (zeaxanthin and antheraxanthin), alpha-carotene-derived xanthophylls such as lutein, which are structural components of the subunits of the light-harvesting complexes, contribute to the dissipation of excess absorbed light energy and the protection of plants from photo-oxidative damage.