No abstract

Photosystem II (PSII) uses solar energy to oxidize water and delivers electrons for life on Earth. The photochemical reaction center of PSII is known to possess two stationary states. In the open state (PSIIO), the absorption of a single photon triggers electron-transfer steps, which convert PSII into the charge-separated closed state (PSIIC). Here, by using steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic techniques on Spinacia oleracea and Thermosynechococcus vulcanus preparations, we show that additional illumination gradually transforms PSIIC into a light-adapted charge-separated state (PSIIL). The PSIIC-to-PSIIL transition, observed at all temperatures between 80 and 308 K, is responsible for a large part of the variable chlorophyll-a fluorescence (Fv) and is associated with subtle, dark-reversible reorganizations in the core complexes, protein conformational changes at non-cryogenic temperatures and marked variations in the rates of photochemical and photophysical reactions. The build-up of PSIIL requires a series of light-induced events generating rapidly recombining primary radical pairs, spaced by sufficient waiting times between these events – pointing to the roles of local electric-field transients and dielectric relaxation processes. We show that the maximum fluorescence level, Fm, is associated with PSIIL rather than with PSIIC, and thus the Fv/Fm parameter cannot be equated with the quantum efficiency of PSII photochemistry. Our findings resolve the controversies and explain the peculiar features of chlorophyll-a fluorescence kinetics, a tool to monitor the functional activity and the structural-functional plasticity of PSII in different wild-type and mutant organisms and under stress conditions.

Photosystem II (PSII) is a multisubunit pigment-protein complex and catalyzes light-driven water oxidation, leading to the conversion of light energy into chemical energy and the release of molecular oxygen. Psb27 is a small thylakoid lumen-localized protein known to serve as an assembly factor for the biogenesis and repair of the PSII complex. The exact location and binding fashion of Psb27 in the intermediate PSII remain elusive. Here, we report the structure of a dimeric Psb27-PSII complex purified from a psbV deletion mutant (ΔPsbV) of the cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus vulcanus, solved by cryo-electron microscopy. Our structure showed that Psb27 is associated with CP43 at the luminal side, with specific interactions formed between Helix 2 and Helix 3 of Psb27 and a loop region between Helix 3 and Helix 4 of CP43 (loop C) as well as the large, lumen-exposed and hydrophilic E-loop of CP43. The binding of Psb27 imposes some conflicts with the N-terminal region of PsbO and also induces some conformational changes in CP43, CP47, and D2. This makes PsbO unable to bind in the Psb27-PSII. Conformational changes also occurred in D1, PsbE, PsbF, and PsbZ; this, together with the conformational changes occurred in CP43, CP47, and D2, may prevent the binding of PsbU and induce dissociation of PsbJ. This structural information provides important insights into the regulation mechanism of Psb27 in the biogenesis and repair of PSII.

No abstract

Photosystem II (PSII) catalyses the photoinduced oxygen evolution and, by producing reducing equivalents drives, in concert with PSI, the conversion of carbon dioxide to sugars. Our knowledge about the architecture of the reaction centre (RC) complex and the mechanisms of charge separation and stabilisation is well advanced. However, our understanding of the processes associated with the functioning of RC is incomplete: the photochemical activity of PSII is routinely monitored by chlorophyll-a fluorescence induction but the presently available data are not free of controversy. In this work, we examined the nature of gradual fluorescence rise of PSII elicited by trains of single-turnover saturating flashes (STSFs) in the presence of a PSII inhibitor, permitting only one stable charge separation. We show that a substantial part of the fluorescence rise originates from light-induced processes that occur after the stabilisation of charge separation, induced by the first STSF; the temperature-dependent relaxation characteristics suggest the involvement of conformational changes in the additional rise. In experiments using double flashes with variable waiting times (∆τ) between them, we found that no rise could be induced with zero or short ∆τ, the value of which depended on the temperature - revealing a previously unknown rate-limiting step in PSII.

No abstract

Photosystem I (PSI) is a large protein supercomplex that catalyzes the light-dependent oxidation of plastocyanin (or cytochrome c 6 ) and the reduction of ferredoxin. This catalytic reaction is realized by a transmembrane electron transfer chain consisting of primary electron donor (a special chlorophyll (Chl) pair) and electron acceptors A 0 , A 1 , and three Fe 4 S 4 clusters, F X , F A , and F B . Here we report the PSI structure from a Chl d-dominated cyanobacterium Acaryochloris marina at 3.3 Å resolution obtained by single-particle cryo-electron microscopy. The A. marina PSI exists as a trimer with three identical monomers. Surprisingly, the structure reveals a unique composition of electron transfer chain in which the primary electron acceptor A 0 is composed of two pheophytin a rather than Chl a found in any other well-known PSI structures. A novel subunit Psa27 is observed in the A. marina PSI structure. In addition, 77 Chls, 13 α-carotenes, two phylloquinones, three Fe-S clusters, two phosphatidyl glycerols, and one monogalactosyl-diglyceride were identified in each PSI monomer. Our results provide a structural basis for deciphering the mechanism of photosynthesis in a PSI complex with Chl d as the dominating pigments and absorbing far-red light.

Integrating natural and artificial photosynthetic platforms is an important approach to developing solar-driven hybrid systems with exceptional function over the individual components. A natural-artificial photosynthetic hybrid platform is formed by wiring photosystem II (PSII) and a platinum-decorated silicon photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell in a tandem manner based on a photocatalytic-PEC Z-scheme design. Although the individual components cannot achieve overall water splitting, the hybrid platform demonstrated the capability of unassisted solar-driven overall water splitting. Moreover, H2 and O2 evolution can be separated in this system, which is ascribed to the functionality afforded by the unconventional Z-scheme design. Furthermore, the tandem configuration and the spatial separation between PSII and artificial components provide more opportunities to develop efficient natural-artificial hybrid photosynthesis systems.