Zabret, J. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2021

OJIP chlorophyll fluorescence induction profiles and plastoquinone binding affinity of the Photosystem II assembly intermediate PSII-I from Thermosynechococcus elongatus

Binding of Psb28 to the photosystem II assembly intermediate PSII-I induces conformational changes to the PSII acceptor side that impact charge recombination and reduce the in situ production of singlet oxygen (Zabret et al. 2021, Nat. Plants 7, 524-538). A detailed fluorometric analysis of the PSII-I assembly intermediate compared with OEC-disrupted and Mn-depleted PSII complexes showed differences between their variable (OJIP) chlorophyll fluorescence induction profiles. These revealed a distinct destabilisation of the QA- state in the PSII-I assembly intermediate and inactivated PSII samples related to an increased rate of direct and safe charge recombination. Furthermore, inactivation or removal of the OEC increases the binding affinity for plastoquinone analogues like DCBQ to the different PSII complexes. These results might indicate a mechanism that further contributes to the protection of PSII during biogenesis or repair.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2020

How to build a water-splitting machine: structural insights into photosystem II assembly

Biogenesis of photosystem II (PSII), natures water splitting catalyst, is assisted by auxiliary proteins that form transient complexes with PSII components to facilitate stepwise assembly events. Using cryo-electron microscopy, we solved the structure of such a PSII assembly intermediate with 2.94 [A] resolution. It contains three assembly factors (Psb27, Psb28, Psb34) and provides detailed insights into their molecular function. Binding of Psb28 induces large conformational changes at the PSII acceptor side, which distort the binding pocket of the mobile quinone (QB) and replace bicarbonate with glutamate as a ligand of the non-heme iron, a structural motif found in reaction centers of non-oxygenic photosynthetic bacteria. These results reveal novel mechanisms that protect PSII from damage during biogenesis until water splitting is activated. Our structure further demonstrates how the PSII active site is prepared for the incorporation of the Mn4CaO5 cluster, which performs the unique water splitting reaction. One Sentence HighlightThe high-resolution Cryo-EM structure of the photosystem II assembly intermediate PSII-I reveals how natures water splitting catalyst is assembled, protected and prepared for photoactivation by help of the three assembly factors Psb27, Psb28 and Psb34.

plant biology↗