Protein−Protein Interactions between the Photosystem I Reaction Center Core and the PsaC Subunit

Ab Initio Prediction of the Gas- and Solution-Phase Acidities of Strong Brønsted Acids: The Calculation of pKa Values Less Than −10

The intrinsic gas-phase acidities of a series of 21 Brønsted acids have been predicted with G3(MP2) theory. The G3(MP2) results agree with high level CCSD(T)/CBS acidities for H(2)SO(4), FSO(3)H, CH(3)SO(3)H, and CF(3)SO(3)H to within 1 kcal/mol. The G3(MP2) results are in excellent agreement with experimental gas-phase acidities in the range 342-302 kcal/mol to within <1 kcal/mol for 14 out of 15 acids. Five of the six acids in the range of 302-289 kcal/mol had an average deviation of 5.5 kcal/mol and the strongest acid, (CF(3)SO(2))(3)CH, deviated by 15.0 kcal/mol. These high-level calculations strongly suggest that the experimental acidities in this very acidic part of the scale need to be remeasured. The CCSD(T)/CBS (mixed exponential Gaussian) additive approach for CH(3)CO(2)H, HNO(3), H(2)SO(4), CH(3)SO(3)H, FSO(3)H, and CF(3)SO(3)H gives excellent agreement (+/-1 kcal/mol) with experiment for the DeltaH(f)(0)'s of non-sulfur containing species, and supports the low end of the experimental values for H(2)SO(4) and FSO(3)H. Use of a larger basis set (aug-cc-pV5Z) in the CBS extrapolation improves the agreement with experiment for both H(2)SO(4) and FSO(3)H. The G3(MP2) heats of formation for RSO(3)H molecules tend to be underestimated as compared to the CCSD(T)/CBS approach by 2.5-7.0 kcal/mol. COSMO solvation calculations were used to predict solution free energies and pK(a) values with pK(a)'s up to -17.4. Including the solvation of the proton gives good agreement with experimental pK(a) values in the very acidic regime, whereas it is less reliable for weaker acids. The use of CH(3)CO(2)H and HNO(3) as reference acids in the less acidic and more acidic regions of the scale, respectively, provided improved results to within +/-2 pK(a) units in nearly all cases (+/-3 kcal/mol accuracy).

The Ionic Isomegethic Rule and Additivity Relationships: Estimation of Ion Volumes. A Route to the Energetics and Entropics of New, Traditional, Hypothetical, and Counterintuitive Ionic Materials

By virtue of our recently established relationships, knowledge of the formula unit volume, V(m), of a solid ionic material permits estimation of thermodynamic properties such as standard entropy, lattice potential energy, and, hence, enthalpy and Gibbs energy changes for reactions. Accordingly, development of an approach to obtain currently unavailable ion volumes can expose compounds containing these ions to thermodynamic scrutiny, such as predictions regarding stability and synthesis. The isomegethic rule, introduced in this paper, states that the formula unit volumes, V(m), of isomeric ionic salts are approximately the same; this rule then forms the basis for a powerful and successful means of predicting unknown ion volumes (as well as providing a means of validating existing volume and density data) and, thereby, providing solid state thermodynamic data. The rule is exploited to generate unknown ion and (by additivity) corresponding formula unit volumes.

Role of subunits in eukaryotic Photosystem I

Photosystem I (PSI) of eukaryotes has a number of features that distinguishes it from PSI of cyanobacteria. In plants, the PSI core has three subunits that are not found in cyanobacterial PSI. The remaining 11 subunits of the core are conserved but several of the subunits have a different role in eukaryotic PSI. A distinguishing feature of eukaryotic PSI is the membrane-imbedded peripheral antenna. Light-harvesting complex I is composed of four different subunits and is specific for PSI. Light-harvesting complex II can be associated with both PSI and PSII. Several of the core subunits interact with the peripheral antenna proteins and are important for proper function of the peripheral antenna. The review describes the role of the different subunits in eukaryotic PSI. The emphasis is on features that are different from cyanobacterial PSI.

Site-directed mutagenesis of the PsaC subunit of photosystem I. F(b) is the cluster interacting with soluble ferredoxin

The two [4Fe-4S] clusters F(A) and F(B) are the terminal electron acceptors of photosystem I (PSI) that are bound by the stromal subunit PsaC. Soluble ferredoxin (Fd) binds to PSI via electrostatic interactions and is reduced by the outermost iron-sulfur cluster of PsaC. We have generated six site-directed mutants of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii in which residues located close to the iron-sulfur clusters of PsaC are changed. The acidic residues Asp(9) and Glu(46), which are located one residue upstream of the first cysteine liganding cluster F(B) and F(A), respectively, were changed to a neutral or a basic amino acid. Although Fd reduction is not affected by the E46Q and E46K mutations, a slight increase of Fd affinity (from 1.3- to 2-fold) was observed by flash absorption spectroscopy for the D9N and D9K mutant PSI complexes. In the FA(2) triple mutant (V49I/K52T/R53Q), modification of residues located next to the F(A) cluster leads to partial destabilization of the PSI complex. The electron paramagnetic resonance properties of cluster F(A) are affected, and a 3-fold decrease of Fd affinity is observed. The introduction of positively charged residues close to the F(B) cluster in the FB(1) triple mutant (I12V/T15K/Q16R) results in a 60-fold increase of Fd affinity as measured by flash absorption spectroscopy and a larger amount of PsaC-Fd cross-linking product. The first-order kinetics are similar to wild type kinetics (two phases with t((1)/(2)) of <1 and approximately 4.5 microseconds) for all mutants except FB(1), where Fd reduction is almost monophasic with t((1)/(2)) < 1 microseconds. These data indicate that F(B) is the cluster interacting with Fd and therefore the outermost iron-sulfur cluster of PSI.