A detailed analysis of the properties of cytochrome b(559) (Cyt b(559)) in photosystem II (PS II) preparations with different degrees of structural complexity is presented. It reveals that (i) D1-D2-Cyt b(559) complexes either in solubilized form or incorporated into liposomes contain only one type of Cyt b(559) with E(m) values of 60 +/- 5 and 100 +/- 10 mV, respectively, at pH 6.8; (ii) in oxygen-evolving solubilized PS II core complexes Cyt b(559) exists predominantly (>85%) as an LP form with an E(m,7) of 125 +/- 10 mV and a minor fraction with an E(m,7) of -150 +/- 15 mV; (iii) in oxygen-evolving PS II membrane fragments three different redox forms are discernible with E(m) values of 390 +/- 15 mV (HP form), 230 +/- 20 mV (IP form), and 105 +/- 25 mV (LP form) and relative amplitudes of 58, 24, and 18%, respectively, at pH 7.3; (iv) the E(m) values are almost pH-independent between pH 6 and 9.5 in all sample types except D1-D2-Cyt b(559) complexes incorporated into liposomes with a slope of -29 mV/pH unit, when the pH increases from 6 to 9.5 (IP and LP form in PS II membrane fragments possibly within a restricted range from pH 6.5 to 8); (v) at pH >8 the HP Cyt b(559) progressively converts to the IP form with increasing pH; (vi) the reduced-minus-oxidized optical difference spectra of Cyt b(559) are very similar in the lambda range of 360-700 nm for all types except for the HP form which exhibits pronounced differences in the Soret band; and (vii) PS II membrane fragments and core complexes are inferred to contain about two Cyt b(559) hemes per PS II. Possible implications of conformational changes near the heme group and spin state transitions of the iron are discussed.

The present study provides a thorough analysis of effects on the redox properties of cytochrome (Cyt) b559 induced by two photosystem II (PS II) herbicides [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU) and 2,4-dinitro-6-sec-butylphenol (dinoseb)], an acceleration of the deactivation reactions of system Y (ADRY) agent carbonylcyanide-m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP), and the lipophilic PS II electron-donor tetraphenylboron (TPB) in PS II membrane fragments from higher plants. The obtained results revealed that (1) all four compounds selectively affected the midpoint potential (E(m)) of the high potential (HP) form of Cyt b559 without any measurable changes of the E(m) values of the intermediate potential (IP) and low potential (LP) forms; (2) the control values from +390 to +400 mV for HP Cyt b559 gradually decreased with increasing concentrations of DCMU, dinoseb, CCCP, and TPB; (3) in the presence of high TPB concentrations, a saturation of the E(m) decrease was obtained at a level of about +240 mV, whereas no saturation was observed for the other compounds at the highest concentrations used in this study; (4) the effect of the phenolic herbicide dinoseb on the E(m) is independent of the occupancy of the Q(B)-binding site by DCMU; (5) at high concentrations of TPB or dinoseb, an additional slow and irreversible transformation of HP Cyt b559 into IP Cyt b559 or a mixture of the IP and LP Cyt b559 is observed; and (6) the compounds stimulate autoxidation of HP Cyt b559 under aerobic conditions. These findings lead to the conclusion that a binding site Q(C) exists for the studied substances that is close to Cyt b559 and different from the Q(B) site. On the basis of the results of the present study and former experiments on the effect of PQ extraction and reconstitution on HP Cyt b559 [Cox, R. P., and Bendall, D. S. (1974) The functions of plastoquinone and beta-carotene in photosystem II of chloroplasts, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 347, 49-59], it is postulated that the binding of a plastoquinone (PQ) molecule to Q(C) is crucial for establishing the HP form of Cyt b559. On the other hand, the binding of plastoquinol (PQH2) to Q(C) is assumed to cause a marked decrease of E(m), thus, giving rise to a PQH2 oxidase function of Cyt b559. The possible physiological role of the Q(C) site as a regulator of the reactivity of Cyt b559 is discussed.

The effect of dehydration on the reaction pattern of photosystem II (PS II) has been studied by measuring and analyzing spectral changes induced by continuous wavelength illumination in films of untreated and hydroxylamine-washed PS II membrane fragments dehydrated to different levels. The obtained data revealed (i) the extent of light-induced formation of about one Q(A)(-*)per 230 chlorophylls (Chl) remains virtually invariant to dehydration down to the lowest values of relative humidity (6-8% RH); (ii) a decrease of the RH to 30% leads to severe blockage of the electron transfer from Q(A)(-*) to Q(B) and the progressive replacement of water oxidation by photooxidation of high potential (HP) cytochrome (Cyt) b559 in untreated PS II samples or accessory Chl and carotenoid (Car) molecules in samples with preoxidized Cyt b559; (iii) photooxidation of Cyt b559 is followed by its photoreduction, concomitant with photooxidation of Chl and Car; (iv) in dry samples with preoxidized Cyt b559, not more than a half of total Cyt b559 can be photochemically reduced, independent of the extent of Cyt b559 in the HP form; (v) at low RH values, Cyt b559 photoreduction in samples with preoxidized heme groups and photoaccumulation of Q(A)(-*) take place with biphasic kinetics with similar rate constants for both processes; (vi) Cyt b559 photoreduction in dry samples is DCMU insensitive, while the dark rereduction of photooxidized Cyt b559 is inhibited by DCMU; (vii) fast and slow kinetic phases of Cyt b559 photoreduction dramatically differ in their dependencies on the intensity of CW illumination and are associated with electron donation to Cyt b559 from Q(A)(-*) and pheophytin(-*), respectively. The pathways of light-induced electron transfer in PS II involving Cyt b559 are discussed.

"Reduced minus oxidized" difference extinction coefficients Deltavarepsilon in the alpha-bands of Cyt b559 and Cyt c550 were determined by using functionally and structurally well-characterized PS II core complexes from the thermophilic cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus elongatus. Values of 25.1+/-1.0 mM(-1) cm(-1) and 27.0+/-1.0 mM(-1) cm(-1) were obtained for Cyt b559 and Cyt c550, respectively. Anaerobic redox titrations covering the wide range from -250 up to +450 mV revealed that the heme groups of both Cyt b559 and Cyt c550 exhibit homogenous redox properties in the sample preparation used, with E(m) values at pH 6.5 of 244+/-11 mV and -94+/-21 mV, respectively. No HP form of Cyt b559 could be detected. Experiments performed on PS II membrane fragments of higher plants where the content of the high potential form of Cyt b559 was varied by special treatments (pH, heat) have shown that the alpha-band extinction of Cyt b559 does not depend on the redox form of the heme group. Based on the results of this study the Cyt b559/PSII stoichiometry is inferred to be 1:1 not only in thermophilic cyanobacteria as known from the crystal structure but also in PSII of plants. Possible interrelationships between the structure of the Q(B) site and the microenvironment of the heme group of Cyt b559 are discussed.