Search results for "Pigment binding"

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

2008

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…

Carotenoid binding sites in LHCIIb

2000

The major light-harvesting complex of photosystem II can be reconstituted in vitro from its bacterially expressed apoprotein with chlorophylls a and b and neoxanthin, violaxanthin, lutein, or zeaxanthin as the only xanthophyll. Reconstitution of these one-carotenoid complexes requires low-stringency conditions during complex formation and isolation. Neoxanthin complexes (containing 30–50% of the all-trans isomer) disintegrate during electrophoresis, exhibit a largely reduced resistance against proteolytic attack; in addition, energy transfer from Chl b to Chl a is easily disrupted at elevated temperature. Complexes reconstituted in the presence of either zeaxanthin or lutein contain nearly …

Early folding events during light harvesting complex II assembly in vitro monitored by pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance

2016

Efficient energy transfer in the major light harvesting complex II (LHCII) of green plants is facilitated by the precise alignment of pigments due to the protein matrix they are bound to. Much is known about the import of the LHCII apoprotein into the chloroplast via the TOC/TIC system and its targeting to the thylakoid membrane but information is sparse about when and where the pigments are bound and how this is coordinated with protein folding. In vitro, the LHCII apoprotein spontaneously folds and binds its pigments if the detergent-solubilized protein is combined with a mixture of chlorophylls a and b and carotenoids. In the present work, we employed this approach to study apoprotein fo…

Expression of a higher plant light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-binding protein in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

1999

A chimeric lhcb gene, coding for Lhcb, a higher plant chlorophyll a/b-binding light-harvesting complex of photosystem II (LHCII), was constructed using the Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 psbA3 promoter and a modified lhcb gene from pea. This construct drives synthesis of full-length, mature Lhcb under the control of the strong psbA3 promoter that usually drives expression of the D1 protein of photosystem II. This chimeric gene was transformed into a photosystem I-less/chlL(-) Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 strain that is unable to synthesize chlorophyll in darkness. In the resulting strain, a high level of lhcb transcript was detected and transcript accumulation was enhanced by addition of exogenou…

Kinetic Studies of the Assembly of Plant Light Harvesting Complex II

1998

Photosynthesis relies on the correct assembly of pigment binding proteins within the thylakoid membrane. Yet, very little is known about the folding of such membrane proteins. The biochemical difficulties connected with these highly hydrophobic proteins are reflected in the low number of crystal structures available for membrane proteins to date. One of the few available, however, is that of LCHII (1). In addition, LHCII is one of only a handful of membrane proteins that can be regenerated in vitro to a native-like conformation (2,3). These two features make it a good candidate for studying its folding and assembly kinetics. Here, a preliminary study on the assembly kinetics of LHCII as a f…

Domain-specific Random Mutagenesis in Light Harvesting Chlorophyll a/b Protein (LHCII)

1998

In all photosynthesising organisms the presence of light harvesting complexes greatly enhances the efficiency of photosynthesis. The most abundant of these pigment binding complexes is the major light harvesting complex II (LHCII) of plants, associated with photosystem II. Its structure has largely been resolved to 3.4 A (1) showing light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-binding protein (LHCP) with 12 chlorophyll (chl) and 2 xantophyll molecules, all non-covalently arranged around the three membrane spanning domains (MSD) and one amphipathic helix of LHCII. The functional significance of many amino acids in this structure is still unclear, particularly in those parts of the complex that are less …

Recombinant water-soluble chlorophyll protein from Brassica oleracea var. Botrys binds various chlorophyll derivatives.

2003

A gene coding for water-soluble chlorophyll-binding protein (WSCP) from Brassica oleracea var. Botrys has been used to express the protein, extended by a hexahistidyl tag, in Escherichia coli. The protein has been refolded in vitro to study its pigment binding behavior. Recombinant WSCP was found to bind two chlorophylls (Chls) per tetrameric protein complex but no carotenoids in accordance with previous observations with the native protein [Satoh, H., Nakayama, K., Okada, M. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 30568-30575]. WSCP binds Chl a, Chl b, bacteriochlorophyll a, and the Zn derivative of Chl a but not pheophytin a, indicating that the central metal ion in Chl is essential for binding. WSCP …

Single amino acids in the lumenal loop domain influence the stability of the major light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b complex.

2004

The major light-harvesting complex of photosystem II (LHCIIb) is one of the most abundant integral membrane proteins. It greatly enhances the efficiency of photosynthesis in green plants by binding a large number of accessory pigments that absorb light energy and conduct it toward the photosynthetic reaction centers. Most of these pigments are associated with the three transmembrane and one amphiphilic alpha helices of the protein. Less is known about the significance of the loop domains connecting the alpha helices for pigment binding. Therefore, we randomly exchanged single amino acids in the lumenal loop domain of the bacterially expressed apoprotein Lhcb1 and then reconstituted the muta…

Reconstitution and Pigment Exchange

2007

Pigment composition of PS II pigment protein complexes purified by anion exchange chromatography. identification of xanthophyll cycle pigment binding…

1997

Summary The pigment composition of the chlorophyll binding proteins of Photosystem II (PS II) of spinach ( Spinacea oleracea L.) has been determined using sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation, anion exchange chromatography and HPLC based pigment analysis. The xanthophyll cycle pigments violaxanthin, antheraxanthin and zeaxanthin were exclusively found in the proteins of the outer PS II antenna, with the highest amounts being present in the minor chlorophyll alb binding proteins CP 29 and CP 26. PS II core particles containing the reaction centre proteins D1, D2, cytochrome b 559 and the proteins of the inner antenna CP 47 and CP 43 bind β-carotene as the only carotenoid. The presence of the…