This report concerns physiological function of mycosporine-like amino acids (MAA) as an active defense against the photooxidative effects of sunlight in marine organisms. Mycosporine glycine (MG) is a representative member of MAA family and was found to effectively suppress various detrimental effects of the Type-II photosensitization in biological systems, such as inactivation of mitochondrial electron transport, lipid peroxidation of microsomes, hemolysis of erythrocytes and growth inhibition of Escherichia coli. The presence of MG in solutions of eosin Y or methylene blue resulted in a marked decrease in the level of singlet oxygen (1O2) produced by the sensitizers under illumination. The rate constant of 1O2 quenching by MG was determined to be 5.6 x 10(7) M(-1) s(-1) by the time-resolved 1O2 luminescence decay method, which is higher than, or at least comparable to, the values for 1O2 reaction of well-known quenchers such as 1,4-diazabicyclo[2,2,2]octane and furfuryl alcohol. The results suggest that MG probably together with some other active MAA may play an important role in protecting marine organisms against sunlight damage by eliminating 1O2 generated from certain endogenous photosensitizers.
Abstract— The photogeneration of singlet oxygen (1O2) from thylakoids and the chromophores involved as endogenous sensitizers were investigated using chloroplasts and thylakoids isolated from spinach. The blue light‐induced inhibition kinetics of photosynthetic electron transport and that of CTvCF, ATPase were also studied. The spectral dependence of the generation of 1O2 from thylakoid membranes, measured by the imidazole plus RNO method, clearly demonstrated that the Fe‐S centers play an important role in 1O2 generation, acting as sensitizers in thylakoids. The photoinhibition of the electron transport in isolated chloroplasts was strikingly depressed by a lipid‐soluble '02 quencher and enhanced by deuterium oxide substitution, indicating that the inhibition processes are mainly mediated by 1O2 which is produced via photodynamic activation. The involvement of chloroplast cytochromes in the production of 1O2 was deduced from the action spectrum for the photodynamic inhibition of the electron carrier chain. The results obtained from the kinetic studies appear consistent with the involvement of some components such as the Fe‐S centers and cytochrome chromophores of the carrier chain in the generation of 1O2.
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