The negatively charged amino acids in the lumenal loop influence the pigment binding and conformation of the major light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b complex of photosystem II

AbstractThe major chlorophyll (Chl) a/b complexes of photosystem II (LHCIIb), in addition to their primary light-harvesting function, play key roles in the organization of the granal ultrastructure of the thylakoid membranes and in various regulatory processes. These functions depend on the structural stability and flexibility of the complexes. The lumenal side of LHCIIb is exposed to broadly variable pH environments, due to the build-up and decay of the pH gradient during photosynthesis. Therefore, the negatively charged amino acids in the lumenal loop might be of paramount importance for adjusting the structure and functions of LHCIIb. In order to clarify the structural roles of these res…

Contributory presentations/posters

Organization of the pigment molecules in the chlorophyll a/c light-harvesting complex of Pleurochloris meiringensis (xanthophyceae). Characterization with circular dichroism and absorbance spectroscopy

Abstract By the aid of circular dichroism (CD), absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy, we studied the molecular organization of the pigment molecules in cells, isolated chloroplasts and the chlorophyll a / c light-harvesting complex (LHC) associated with photosystem II of the chlorphyll c -containing alga, Pleurochloris meiringensis . In cells and chloroplasts, similarly to higher plant chloroplasts, a (+) 693 nm CD band accompanied by a tail outside the absorbance indicated a long-range chiral organization of the chlorophyll molecules. The LHCII of these algae exhibited an intense negative CD band at 679 nm. However, in contrast to the chlorophyll a / b LHCII of higher plants, where the…