ATP regeneration by cyclic photophosphorylation using spinach thylakoid

Summary ATP photophosphorylation by spinach thylakoid was examined to evaluate its use as an ATP regeneration reaction in biosynthetic reactors that consume ATP. Initial rate of cyclic photophosphorylation mediated by phenazine methosulfate was found to be 218 mole ATP/h.mg Chlorophyll. This activity was stable for over 3 months at –85°C. When phosphoryl transfer reactions were coupled to cyclic photophosphorylation, ATP was continuously regenerated by thylakoid between 14–24 times in batch reactors.     

Regulation of Cyclic Photophosphorylation during Ferredoxin-Mediated Electron Transport : Effect of DCMU and the NADPH/NADP Ratio

Addition of ferredoxin to isolated thylakoid membranes reconstitutes electron transport from water to NADP and to O₂ (the Mehler reaction). This electron flow is coupled to ATP synthesis, and both cyclic and noncyclic electron transport drive photophosphorylation. Under conditions where the NADPH/NADP⁺ ratio is varied, the amount of ATP synthesis due to cyclic activity is also varied, as is the amount of cyclic activity which is sensitive to antimycin A. Partial inhibition of photosystem II activity with DCMU (which affects reduction of electron carriers of the interphotosystem chain) also affects the level of cyclic activity. The results of these experiments indicate that two modes of cyclic electron transfer activity, which differ in their antimycin A sensitivity, can operate in the thylakoid membrane. Regulation of these activities can occur at the level of ferredoxin and is governed by the NADPH/NADP ratio.     

Photophosphorylation Associated with Photosystem II: II. Effects of Electron Donors, Catalyst Oxidation, and Electron Transport Inhibitors on Photosystem II Cyclic Photophosphorylation

Incubation of KCN-Hg-NH₂OH-inhibited spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) chloroplasts with p-phenylenediamine for 10 minutes in the dark prior to illumination produced rates of photosystem II cyclic photophosphorylation up to 2-fold greater than the rates obtained without incubation. Partial oxidation of p-phenylenediaine with ferricyanide produced a similar stimulation of ATP synthesis; addition of dithiothreitol suppressed the stimulation observed with incubation. Addition of ferricyanide in amounts sufficient to oxidize completely p-phenylenediamine failed to inhibit completely photosystem II cyclic activity. This is due at least in part to the fact that the ferrocyanide produced by oxidation of p-phenylenediamine is itself a catalyst of photosystem II cyclic photophosphorylation. N,N,N′N′-Tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine catalyzes photosystem II cyclic photophosphorylation at rates approaching those observed with p-phenylenediamine. The activities of both proton/electron and electron donor catalysts of the photosystem II cycle are inhibited by dibromothyoquinone and antimycin A. These findings are interpreted to indicate that photosystem II cyclic photophosphorylation requires the operation of endogenous membrane-bound electron carriers for optimal coupling of ATP synthesis to electron transport.     

Photophosphorylation Associated with Photosystem II: III. Characterization of Uncoupling, Energy Transfer Inhibition, and Proton Uptake Reactions Associated with Photosystem II Cyclic Photophosphorylation

A number of uncouplers and energy transfer inhibitors suppress photosystem II cyclic photophosphorylation catalyzed by either a proton/electron or electron donor. Valinomycin and 2,4-dinitrophenol also inhibit photosystem II cyclic photophosphorylation, but these compounds appear to act as electron transport inhibitors rather than as uncouplers. Only when valinomycin, KCl, and 2,4-dinitrophenol were added simultaneously to phosphorylation reaction mixtures was substantial uncoupling observed. Photosystem II noncyclic and cyclic electron transport reactions generate positive absorbance changes at 518 nm. Uncoupling and energy transfer inhibition diminished the magnitude of these absorbance changes. Photosystem II cyclic electron transport catalyzed by either p-phenylenediamine or N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine stimulated proton uptake in KCN-Hg-NH₂OH-inhibited spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) chloroplasts. Illumination with 640 nm light produced an extent of proton uptake approximately 3-fold greater than did 700 nm illumination, indicating that photosystem II-catalyzed electron transport was responsible for proton uptake. Electron transport inhibitors, uncouplers, and energy transfer inhibitors produced inhibitions of photosystem II-dependent proton uptake consistent with the effects of these compounds on ATP synthesis by the photosystem II cycle. These results are interpreted as indicating that endogenous proton-translocating components of the thylakoid membrane participate in coupling of ATP synthesis to photosystem II cyclic electron transport.     

Effect of Light on Tobacco Mosaic Virus Formation under Anaerobic Conditions

Tobacco leaf discs, infected with tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), were floated on Vickery's solution and kept under N₂ in the light, conditions where the only source of ATP was assumed to be cyclic photophosphorylation. Usually the virus content was unaltered or decreased during the next 24 hours; occasionally there was some TMV formation, but less than in air and light, and it was abolished by 10^?5 M DCMU. This suggested that ATP produced by cyclic photophosphorylation was not used in TMV formation. Infected discs exposed to N₂ for longer than 2 hours formed less virus when transferred to air and light than discs not exposed to N₂, presumably because some breakdown in the TMV-forming apparatus occurred in ATP deficient conditions.     

Cyclic photophosphorylation reactions catalyzed by ferredoxin,methyl viologen and anthraquinone sulfonate. Use of photochemical reactions to optimize redox poising

The flavin analogue 5-deazariboflavin is a convenient catalyst for the photoreduction of low-potential redox compounds. In an anaerobic medium with Tricine buffer as the electron donor, 5-deazariboflavin is capable of photoreducing both ferredoxin and methyl viologen. We have used this method to conduct a comparative study of the Photosystem I photophosphorylation activities supported by the reduced forms of ferredoxin, methyl viologen and anthraquinone sulfonate. All of these catalysts are capable of generating high rates (200–500 μmol ATP/h per mg chlorophyll) of cyclic photophosphorylation, but only the activity dependent on ferredoxin exhibits sensitivity to antimycin A. This finding suggests that the size of the catalyst and its ability to approach the thylakoid membrane, rather than low-redox potential, governs antimycin A sensitivity. Ferredoxin-catalyzed activity is, however, less sensitive to inhibition by dibromothymoquinone than are the activities supported by methyl viologen and anthraquinone sulfonate. This discrepancy is due to binding of the inhibitor by ferredoxin.     

Changes in the structure and the functional state of thylakoids under the conditions of osmotic shock

The effect of osmotic shock on the ultrastructure and functions of C-class pea chloroplasts has been examined. When incubated in a non-sucrose medium for 30 s or more, thylakoids were found to pass to a stable deformed state. This state was characterized by an altered orientation of thylakoids to each other with the lumen thickness remaining the same as in the normal state. Experiments with shorter incubation periods (10–20 s) revealed a swelling of thylakoids, which probably represented an intermediate stage. The deformation of the thylakoid system was accompanied by a decrease in the non-cyclic ATP synthesis but by an increase in the rate of cyclic photophosphorylation. Besides, the deformed thylakoids demonstrated an acceleration of the basal electron transport, as well a rise in the light-induced H⁺ and imidazol uptake. The data obtained are discussed in the light of membrane interactions fixing the configuration of a thylakoid.     

Energy-dependent changes in the ATP/ADP ratio at the tight nucleotide binding site of chloroplast ATP synthase

Using DTT-modulated thylakoid membranes we studied tight nucleotide binding and ATP content in bound nucleotides and in the reaction mixture during [¹⁴C] ADP photophosphorylation. The increasing light intensity caused an increase in the rate of [¹⁴C] ADP incorporation and a decrease in the steady-state level of tightly bound nucleotides. Within the light intensity range from 11 to 710 w m^–2, ATP content in bound nucleotides was larger than that in nucleotides of the reaction mixture; the most prominent difference was observed at low degrees of ADP phosphorylation. The increasing light intensity was accompanied by a significant increase of the relative ATP content in tightly bound nucleotides. The ratio between substrates and products formed at the tight nucleotide binding site during photophosphorylation was suggested to depend on the light-induced proton gradient across the thylakoid membrane.Abbreviations AdN adenine nucleotide - Chl chlorophyll - DTT dithiothreitol - FCCP carbonylcianide p-trifluoromethoxyphenilhydrazone - P_i inorganic orthophosphate - PMS phenazine methosulfate - TLC thin-layer chromatography - Tricine N-[tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl] glycine     

Effect of nano-TiO2 on photochemical reaction of chloroplasts of spinach

The effects of nano-TiO₂ (rutile) on the photochemical reaction of chloroplasts of spinach were studied. The results showed that when spinach was treated with 0.25% nano-TiO₂, the Hill reaction, such as the reduction rate of FeCy, and the rate of evolution oxygen of chloroplasts was accelerated and noncyclic photophosphorylation (nc-PSP) activity of chloroplasts was higher than cyclic photophosphorylation (c-PSP) activity, the chloroplast coupling was improved and activities of Mg²⁺-ATPase and chloroplast coupling factor I (CF₁)-ATPase on the thylakoid membranes were obviously activated. It suggested that photosynthesis promoted by nano-TiO₂ might be related to activation of photochemical reaction of chloroplasts of spinach.     

Cyclic and Noncyclic Photophosphorylation in Isolated Guard Cell Chloroplasts from Vicia faba L

High rates of both cyclic and noncyclic photophosphorylation were measured in chloroplast lamellae isolated from purified guard cell protoplasts from Vicia faba L. Typical rates of light-dependent incorporation of ³²P into ATP were 100 and 190 micromoles ATP per milligram chlorophyll per hour for noncyclic (water to ferricyanide) and cyclic (phenazine methosulfate) photophosphorylation, respectively. These rates were 50 to 80% of those observed with mesophyll chloroplasts. Noncyclic photophosphorylation in guard cell chloroplasts was completely inhibited by 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea supporting the notion that photophosphorylation is coupled to linear electron flow from photosystem II to photosystem I. Several lines of evidence indicated that contamination by mesophyll chloroplasts cannot account for the observed photophosphorylation rates.

A comparison of the photon fluence dependence of noncyclic photophosphorylation in mesophyll and guard cell chloroplasts showed significant differences between the two preparations, with half saturation at 0.04 and 0.08 millimole per square meter per second, respectively.

     

The Role of Cyclic and Pseudocyclic Photophosphorylation in Photosynthetic 14CO2 Fixation in Hydrodictyon africanum

Experiments are reported in which the effects on photosynthesisof various inhibitors of cyclic photophosphorylation were investigated.These inhibitors, generally had only a small inhibitory effecton photosynthesis, and the inhibition was not increased by conditionswhich inhibit pseudocyclic photophosphorylation. These inhibitorsdo not inhibit the Emerson enhancement effect. From these resultsit was concluded that photosynthesis does not need any ATP otherthan that produced in non-cyclic photophosphorylation. The effectsof these inhibitors on active K influx in light-anaerobic conditionsin the presence or absence of CO₂ suggest that some of the ATPproduced by non-cyclic photophosphorylation can be used to supportactive K influx. The results are discussed in relation to themechanism of the Emerson effect, the stoichiometry of non-cyclicphotophosphorylation, and the ATP requirements for autotrophicgrowth.     

Temperature dependence of energy-transducing functions and inhibitor sensitivity in chloroplasts

A comparative analysis of the temperature dependence of energy-transducing reactions in spinach (Spinacia oleracea) chloroplasts and their sensitivity for uncouplers and energy-transfer inhibitors at different temperatures is presented. Arrhenius plots reveal two groups of transitions, around 19°C and around 12°C. Activities that show transitions around 19°C include linear electron flow from water to ferricyanide, its coupled photophosphorylation, the dark-release of the fluorescent probe atebrin, and the slow component of the 515 nm (carotenoid) absorbance decay after a flash. The transitions around 12°C are observed with pyocyanine-mediated cyclic photophosphorylation, light- and dithioerythritol-activated ATP hydrolysis, the dark-release of protons, and the fast 515 nm decay component. It is suggested that both groups of temperature transitions are determined by proton displacements in different domains of the exposed thylakoid membranes. The effects of various uncouplers and an energy-transfer inhibitor are temperature dependent. Some uncouplers also show a different relative inhibition of proton uptake and ATP synthesis at lower temperatures. The efficiency of energy transduction (ATP/e₂) varied with temperature and was optimal around 10°C.     

On an Inhibitor of Ferredoxin Catalyzed Cyclic Photophosphorylation in Thylakoid Membranes*

Dibromo- and diiodo-naphthoquinones are shown to be inhibitors of the cytochrome b₆/f complex in isolated thylakoid membranes from spinach chloroplasts. Dibromo-naphthoquinone inhibits ferredoxin catalyzed cyclic photophosphorylation at 0.1 μM concentrations, but non cyclic e-flow only at 10 μM. It does not inhibit cyclic systems with artifical cofactors, nor non-cyclic electron flow from duroquinol through photosystem I via the cytochrome b₆/f complex. Dibromo-naphthoquinone does however, lower the stoichiometry for ATP formation in the duroquinol donor system. This inhibitory pattern is quite different from that of DBMIB, but very similar to that of antimycin. This antimycin-like behaviour of these inhibitors is interpreted to indicate a) the existence of a Q_c site in the cytochrome b₆/f complex and its obligate function in ferredoxin catalyzed cyclic electron flow and b) a non-essential role of the Q_c site in non-cyclic electron flow, but which — when operative — pumps an extra proton across the thylakoid membrane increasing the ATP yield.     

Purification and Characterization of a Glycerol-Resistant CF(0)-CF(1) and CF(1)-ATPase from the Halotolerant Alga Dunaliella bardawil

The isolation of the chloroplast ATP synthase complex (CF₀-CF₁) and of CF₁ from Dunaliella bardawil is described. The subunit structure of the D. bardawil ATPase differs from that of the spinach in that the D. bardawil α subunit migrates ahead of the β subunit and ε-migrates ahead of subunit II of CF₀ when separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The CF₁ isolated from D. bardawil resembles the CF₁ isolated from Chladmydomonas reinhardi in that a reversible, Mg²⁺-dependent ATPase is induced by selected organic solvents. Glycerol stimulates cyclic photophosphorylation catalyzed by D. bardawil thylakoid membranes but inhibits photophosphorylation catalyzed by spinach thylakoid membranes. Glycerol (20%) also stimulates the rate of ATP-P_i exchange catalyzed by D. bardawil CF₀-CF₁ proteoliposomes but inhibits the activity with the spinach enzyme. The ethanol-activated, Mg²⁺-ATPase of the D. bardawil CF₁ is more resistant to glycerol inhibition than the octylglucoside-activated, Mg²⁺-ATPase of spinach CF₁ or the ethanol-activated, Mg²⁺-dependent ATPase of the C. reinhardi CF₁. Both cyclic photophosphorylation and ATP-P_i exchange catalyzed by D. bardawil CF₀-CF₁ are more sensitive to high concentrations of NaCl than is the spinach complex.     

Antibodies against individual thylakoid membrane proteins as molecular probes to study chemical and mechanical freezing damage in vitro

The release of proteins and the loss of biochemical activities under mechanical and chemical stresses during freezing of isolated thylakoid membranes were investigated, using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, single radial immunodiffusion and the measurement of cyclic photophosphorylation. Antibodies against purified proteins derived from the stromal (coupling factor CF1, ferredoxin-NADP⁺ reductase) and the lumenal side (plastocyanin) of the membrane vesicles were used as probes. Low initial solute concentrations were employed to generate mechanical stress. Chemical stresses were manipulated by varying the molar ratios of cryotoxic to cryoprotective solutes at high initial solute concentrations. Constant low amounts of ferredoxin-NADP⁺ reductase were lost from the membranes during freezing, irrespective of the composition of the suspending media. Damage at high initial osmolalities was accompanied by the release of CF1, which was influenced by the ratio of potentially cryotoxic to cryoprotective solutes, as demanded by the colligative theory of membrane cryopreservation. CF1 release and loss of cyclic photophosphorylation were linearly correlated at different ratios of salt to sucrose. However, the correlation data revealed that CF1 release could account for only part of the observed cryoinjury. Plastocyanin release was predominant at low initial osmolalities and was not influenced by the chemical composition of the suspending media. This indicates mechanical damage by membrane rupture. Under these circumstances loss of plastocyanin and loss of cyclic photophosphorylation were linearly correlated. Loss of photophosphorylation could be prevented by the addition of up to 1.2 mg plastocyanin/ml prior to freezing. It could also be ameliorated to a large extent by raising the phenazine methosulfate concentration in the test assay from 30 to 230 μM. This indicates that the membranes are able to reseal after rupture, maintaining a proton gradient upon illumination and that it is the loss of plastocyanin from their lumen that inhibits cyclic photophosphorylation.     

Interplay between ascorbic acid and lipophilic antioxidant defences in chloroplasts of water-stressed Arabidopsis plants

Nitric oxide (NO) is a bioactive molecule involved in diverse physiological functions in plants. Here we demonstrate that NO is capable of regulating the activity of photophosphorylation in chloroplasts. The electron transport activity in photosystem II determined from chlorophyll a fluorescence was inhibited by NO. NO also inhibited light-induced DeltapH formation across the thylakoid membrane. High concentrations of nitrite and nitrate did not show such inhibitory effects, suggesting that the inhibition is not due to uncoupling effects of the oxidized products of NO. ATP synthesis activity upon illumination was severely inhibited by NO (IC(50)=0.7 microM). The inhibition was found to be temporary and the activity was completely recovered by removing NO. Bovine hemoglobin and bicarbonate were effective in preventing NO-dependent inhibition of photophosphorylation. These results indicate that NO is a reversible inhibitor of photosynthetic ATP synthesis.     

Cyclic and Non-cyclic Photophosphorylation as Energy Sources for Active K Influx in Hydrodictyon africanum

Under anaerobic conditions in the light, active K influx inHydrodictyon africanum is supported by cyclic photophosphorylation.The use of selective inhibitors shows that, in the presenceof CO₂, a considerable portion of the ATP used by the K pumpis supplied by noncyclic photophosphorylation. The rest of theATP in these conditions comes from cyclic photophosphorylation.This is true under light-limiting as well as light-saturatedconditions. If non-cyclic photophosphorylation is inhibited (by removalof carbon dioxide, by the addition of cyanide which interfereswith the carboxylation reaction, or by inhibition of photosystemtwo with DCMU or supplying only far-red light), the K influxat low light intensities is stimulated, and its characteristicsbecome those of a process powered by cyclic photophosphorylationalone. These results are interpreted in terms of a competitionfor ATP between K influx and CO₂ fixation. Implicit in thisexplanation is a requirement for a switch of excitation energyabsorbed by photosystem one from cyclic photophosphorylationto non-cyclic photophosphorylation whenever conditions (presenceof CO₂and photosystem two activity) allow CO₂ fixation to occur. Further evidence for such a switch of excitation energy absorbedby photosystem one was obtained in experiments in which redand far-red light were applied separately and together. It wasfound that CO₂ fixation showed the Emerson enhancement effect,while K influx (in the presence of CO₂) shows a ‘de-enhancement’.This suggests that far-red light alone powers cyclic photophosphorylation;if red light is also present, some of the far-red quanta arediverted to non-cyclic photophosphorylation. The nature of the interaction between cyclic and non-cyclicphotophosphorylation is discussed in relation to these and otherpublished results.     

Thylakoid membrane responses to moderately high leaf temperature in Pima cotton

Photosynthesis is inhibited by high temperatures that plants are likely to experience under natural conditions. Both increased thylakoid membrane ionic conductance and ribulose‐1,5‐bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) deactivation have been suggested as the primary cause. The moderately heat‐tolerant crop Pima S‐6 cotton (Gossypium barbadense) was used to examine heat stress‐induced inhibition of photosynthesis. Previous field‐work indicated that moderate heat stress (T = 35–45 °C) is associated with very rapid leaf temperature changes. Therefore, a system was devised for rapidly heating intact, attached leaves to mimic natural field heat‐stress conditions and monitored Rubisco activation, carbon‐cycle metabolites, thylakoid ionic conductance, and photosystem I activity. As a proxy for NADPH and stromal redox status the activation state of NADP‐malate dehydrogenase (NADP‐MDH) was measured. In dark‐adapted cotton leaves, heating caused an increase in thylakoid permeability at temperatures as low as 36 °C. The increased permeability did not cause a decline in adenosine 5′‐triphosphate (ATP) levels during steady‐state or transient heating. Rapid heating caused a transient decline in ribulose 1,5‐bisphosphate without a decrease in Rubisco activation. Sustained heating caused a decline in Rubisco activation and also oxidized the stroma as judged by NADP‐MDH activation and this is hypothesized to result from increased cyclic photophosphorylation, explaining the maintenance of ATP content in the face of increased thylakoid membrane ion leakiness.     

The Effect of Light Intensity on Total Photophosphorylation and the ATP Level in Scenedesmus

The dependence of in vivo photophosphorylation on light intensity was studied in the unicellular green alga Scenedesmus obtusiusculus. By selective use of the inhibitor DCMU, phosphorylation in (I) the complete system, (II) the pseudocyclic system alone, and (III) the true cyclic system alone, were followed. When the total binding of phosphate was studied, all reaction types became light saturated in about the same manner. The effect of DCMU on the level of ATP varied according to light intensity. As for the specific systems of photophosphorylation, the following ATP data were found: (I) In the complete system the level of ATP decreases with light intensity. (II) Under pseudo-cyclic conditions light first increases and then decreases the ATP level. Under the atmospheric conditions used (i.e. CO₂-free nitrogen) this indicates a regulation between photophosphorylation and glycolysis, for which possible explanations are discussed. (III) In the true cyclic conditions light has little effect on the ATP level. The possibility is indicated that there is a structural difference between the non-cyclic (site 1) and the pseudocyclic (site 2) sites of photophosphorylation on the one hand and the true cyclic site (3) on the other.     

Chloroplastic activity in response to gibberellic acid treatment of dwarf and normal cultivars of pea (Pisum sativum L.)

Levels of ferricyanide reduction, cyclic and non-cyclic photophosphorylation were measured in chloroplasts of two cultivars of pea and a comparison of their P/2e⁺ ratios were made. No differences were observed in cyclic photophosphorylation or ferricyanide reduction but non-cyclic photophosphorylation was lower in chloroplasts from the dwarf than the normal cultivar. Thus the P/2e⁺ ratio of the dwarf was lower than the normal. Dwarf seedlings treated with gibberellic acid (GA₃) had similar rates of cyclic photophosphorylation as the untreated dwarf but non-cyclic photophosphorylation was lower as was ferricyanide reduction. This resulted in P/2e⁺ ratios that were higher in chloroplasts from the GA₃ treated dwarf seedlings than the untreated, and were the same as the untreated normal. Addition of GA₃ directly to the chloroplasts did not alter the activity in any way. Hence gibberellins do not directly affect changes in chloroplastic activity but may conceivably be involved in a feed-back control system.