The 'light' and 'medium' subunits of the photosynthetic reaction centre from Rhodopseudomonas viridis: isolation of the genes, nucleotide and amino acid sequence

The 'light' (L) and the 'medium' (M) subunits of the photosynthetic reaction centre from Rhodopseudomonas viridis were isolated and their amino-terminal sequences, as well as the sequences of several chymotryptic peptides, determined. Rps. viridis DNA was cloned in the Escherichia coli plasmid pBR322. Mixed oligonucleotide probes derived from the amino acid sequences were synthesized and utilised to isolate one clone which contained the genes for the L and M subunits of the reaction centre as well as the alpha and beta subunits of the light-harvesting complex and part of the gene for the reaction centre cytochrome. The nucleotide sequences of the L and M subunit genes and teh derived amino acid sequences are presented. The L subunit consists of 273 amino acids and has a mol. wt of 30 571. The M subunit consists of 323 amino acids and has a mol. wt of 35 902. The primary structure is discussed in the light of the recently published secondary and tertiary structure which has shown that both subunits contain five membrane-spanning helices.     

Amino acid sequence of the cytochrome subunit of the photosynthetic reaction centre from the purple bacterium Rhodopseudomonas viridis

The complete nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding the cytochrome subunit of the photosynthetic reaction centre from the purple bacterium Rhodopseudomonas viridis, and the derived amino acid sequence are presented. The nucleotide sequence of the gene reveals the existence of a typical bacterial signal peptide of 20 amino acid residues which is not found in the mature cytochrome subunit. The gene encoding the cytochrome subunit is preceded by the gene encoding the M subunit. Both genes overlap by 1 bp. The mature cytochrome subunit consists of 336 amino acid residues; 73% of its amino acid sequence was confirmed by protein sequencing work. The mol. wt of the cytochrome subunit including the covalently bound fatty acids and the bound heme groups is 40 500. The internal sequence homology is low, despite the symmetric structure of the cytochrome subunit previously shown by X-ray crystallographic analysis of the intact photosynthetic reaction centre. Sequence homologies to other cytochromes were not found.     

Pigment-protein interactions in the photosynthetic reaction centre from Rhodopseudomonas viridis

An X-ray structure analysis of the photosynthetic reaction centre from the purple bacterium Rhodopseudomonas viridis provides structural details of the pigment-binding sites. The photosynthetic pigments are found in rather hydrophobic environments provided by the subunits L and M. In addition to apolar interactions, the bacteriochlorophylls of the primary electron donor (`special pair') and the bacteriopheophytins, but not the accessory bacteriochlorophylls, form hydrogen bonds with amino acid side chains of these protein subunits. The two branches of pigments which originate at the primary electron donor, and which mark possible electron pathways across the photosynthetic membrane, are in different environments and show different hydrogen bonding with the protein: this may help to understand why only one branch of pigments is active in the light-driven electron transfer. The primary electron acceptor, a menaquinone (Q_A), is in a pocket formed by the M subunit and interacts with it by hydrophobic contacts and hydrogen bonds. Competitive inhibitors of the secondary quinone Q_B (o-phenanthroline, the herbicide terbutryn) are bound into a pocket provided by the L subunit. Apart from numerous van der Waals interactions they also form hydrogen bonds to the protein.     

Nobel lecture. The photosynthetic reaction centre from the purple bacterium Rhodopseudomonas viridis.

In our lectures we first describe the history and methods of membrane protein crystallization, before we show how the structure of the photosynthetic reaction centre from the purple bacterium Rhodopseudomonas viridis was solved. Then the structure of this membrane protein complex is correlated with its function as a light-driven electron pump across the photosynthetic membrane. Finally we draw conclusions on the structure of the photosystem II reaction centre from plants and discuss the aspects of membrane protein structure. Sections 1 (crystallization), 4 (conclusions on the structure of photosystem II reaction centre and evolutionary aspects) and 5 (aspects of membrane protein structure) were presented and written by H.M., Sections 2 (determination of the structure) and 3 (structure and function) by J.D. We have arranged the paper in this way in order to facilitate continuous reading.     

Three-dimensional crystals of a membrane protein complex: The photosynthetic reaction centre from Rhodopseudomonas viridis

Reaction centres of photosynthesis isolated from the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas viridis by a single step of molecular sieve chromatography were crystallized. The isolated and the crystallized reaction centres contain four different protein subunits, including a membrane-bound cytochrome. Crystallization was achieved by salt precipitation using 2 to 3 m-ammonium sulphate as a precipitating agent in the presence of N,N-dimethyldodecylamine N-oxide as detergent and heptane-1,2,3-triol. Large tetragonal crystals of space group P4₁2₁2 or its enantiomorph diffracting to beyond 2.5 Å were obtained.     

The photosynthetic reaction centre from the purple bacteriumRhodopseudomonas viridis

We first describe the history and methods of membrane protein crystallization, and show how the structure of the photosynthetic reaction centre from the purple bacteriumRhodopseudomonas viridis was solved. The structure of this membrane protein complex is correlated with its function as a light-driven electron pump across the photosynthetic membrane. Finally we draw conclusions on the structure of the photosystem II reaction centre from plants and discuss the aspects of membrane protein structure.Published inLes Prix Nobel—The Nobel Prizes 1988 (Nobel Foundation, Stockholm, 1989) and republished here with the permission of the Nobel Foundation the copyright holders.     

Localisation of reaction centre and light harvesting complexes in the photosynthetic unit of Rhodopseudomonas viridis

The photosynthetic unit of Rhodopseudomonas viridis contains a reaction centre (P960) and a light harvesting complex (B1015). Immune electron microscopy combined with image processing has allowed the central core of the photosynthetic unit to be identified as the reaction centre and the surrounding protein ring as the light harvesting complex. This light harvesting complex, subdivided into twelve subunits was shown to contain 24 bacteriochlorophyll b molecules. A model is presented which may account for the far red shift of the Qy absorption of the bacteriochlorophyll b molecules in vivo.     

Uphill electron transfer in the tetraheme cytochrome subunit of the Rhodopseudomonas viridis photosynthetic reaction center: evidence from site-directed mutagenesis

The cytochrome (cyt) subunit of the photosynthetic reaction center from Rhodopseudomonas viridis contains four heme groups in a linear arrangement in the spatial order heme1, heme2, heme4, and heme3. Heme3 is the direct electron donor to the photooxidized primary electron donor (special pair, P(+)). This heme has the highest redox potential (E(m)) among the hemes in the cyt subunit. The E(m) of heme3 has been specifically lowered by site-directed mutagenesis in which the Arg residue at the position of 264 of the cyt was replaced by Lys. The mutation decreases the E(m) of heme3 from +380 to +270 mV, i.e., below that of heme2 (+320 mV). In addition, a blue shift of the alpha-band was found to accompany the mutation. The assignment of the lowered E(m) and the shifted alpha-band to heme3 was confirmed by spectroscopic measurements on RC crystals. The structure of the mutant RC has been determined by X-ray crystallography. No remarkable differences were found in the structure apart from the mutated residue itself. The velocity of the electron transfer (ET) from the tetraheme cyt to P(+) was measured under several redox conditions by following the rereduction of P(+) at 1283 nm after a laser flash. Heme3 donates an electron to P(+) with t(1/2) = 105 ns, i.e., faster than in the wild-type reaction center (t(1/2) = 190 ns), as expected from the larger driving force. The main feature is that a phase with t(1/2) approximately 2 micros dominates when heme3 is oxidized but heme2 is reduced. We conclude that the ET from heme2 to heme3 has a t(1/2) of approximately 2 micros, i.e., the same as in the WT, despite the fact that the reaction is endergonic by 50 meV instead of exergonic by 60 meV. We propose that the reaction kinetics is limited by the very uphill ET from heme2 to heme4, the DeltaG degrees of which is about the same (+230 meV) in both cases. The interpretation is further supported by measurements of the activation energy (216 meV in the wild-type, 236 meV in the mutant) and by approximate calculations of ET rates. Altogether these results demonstrate that the ET from heme2 to heme3 is stepwise, starting with a first very endergonic step from heme2 to heme4.     

Reaction of cytochrome c2 with photosynthetic reaction centers from Rhodopseudomonas viridis.

The reactions of Rhodopseudomonas viridis cytochrome c2 and horse cytochrome c with Rps. viridis photosynthetic reaction centers were studied by using both single- and double-flash excitation. Single-flash excitation of the reaction centers resulted in rapid photooxidation of cytochrome c-556 in the cytochrome subunit of the reaction center. The photooxidized cytochrome c-556 was subsequently reduced by electron transfer from ferrocytochrome c2 present in the solution. The rate constant for this reaction had a hyperbolic dependence on the concentration of cytochrome c2, consistent with the formation of a complex between cytochrome c2 and the reaction center. The dissociation constant of the complex was estimated to be 30 microM, and the rate of electron transfer within the 1:1 complex was 270 s-1. Double-flash experiments revealed that ferricytochrome c2 dissociated from the reaction center with a rate constant of greater than 100 s-1 and allowed another molecule of ferrocytochrome c2 to react. When both cytochrome c-556 and cytochrome c-559 were photooxidized with a double flash, the rate constant for reduction of both components was the same as that observed for cytochrome c-556 alone. The observed rate constant decreased by a factor of 14 as the ionic strength was increased from 5 mM to 1 M, indicating that electrostatic interactions contributed to binding. Molecular modeling studies revealed a possible cytochrome c2 binding site on the cytochrome subunit of the reaction center involving the negatively charged residues Glu-93, Glu-85, Glu-79, and Glu-67 which surround the heme crevice of cytochrome c-554.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Microaerophilic growth and induction of the photosynthetic reaction center in Rhodopseudomonas viridis.

Rhodopseudomonas viridis was grown in liquid culture at 30 degrees C anaerobically in light (generation time, 13 h) and under microaerophilic growth conditions in the dark (generation time, 24 h). The bacterium could be cloned at the same temperature anaerobically in light (1 week) and aerobically in the dark (3 to 4 weeks) if oxygen was limited to 0.1%. Oxygen could not be replaced by dimethyl sulfoxide, potassium nitrate, or sodium nitrite as a terminal electron acceptor. No growth was observed anaerobically in darkness or in the light when air was present. A variety of additional carbon sources were used to supplement the standard succinate medium, but enhanced stationary-phase cell density was observed only with glucose. Conditions for induction of the photosynthetic reaction center upon the change from microaerophilic to phototrophic growth conditions were investigated and optimized for a mutant functionally defective in phototrophic growth. R. viridis consumed about 20-fold its cell volume of oxygen per hour during respiration. The MICs of ampicillin, kanamycin, streptomycin, tetracycline, 1-methyl-3-nitro-1-nitrosoguanidine, and terbutryn were determined.     

Branched-chain amino acid aminotransferase of Escherichia coli: nucleotide sequence of the ilvE gene and the deduced amino acid sequence

The ilvE gene of the Escherichia coli K-12 ilvGEDA operon, which encodes branched-chain amino acid aminotransferase [EC 2.6.1.42], was cloned. The nucleotide sequence of 1.5 kilobase pairs containing the gene was determined. The coding region of the ilvE gene contained 927 nucleotide residues and could encode 309 amino acid residues. The predicted molecular weight, amino acid composition and the sequence of the N-terminal 15 residues agreed with the enzyme data reported previously (Lee-Peng, F.-C., et al. (1979) J. Bacteriol. 139, 339-345). From the deduced amino acid sequence, the secondary structure was predicted.     

Cu2+ site in photosynthetic bacterial reaction centers from Rhodobacter sphaeroides, Rhodobacter capsulatus, and Rhodopseudomonas viridis

The interaction of metal ions with isolated photosynthetic reaction centers (RCs) from the purple bacteria Rhodobacter sphaeroides, Rhodobacter capsulatus, and Rhodopseudomonas viridis has been investigated with transient optical and magnetic resonance techniques. In RCs from all species, the electrochromic response of the bacteriopheophytin cofactors associated with Q(A)(-)Q(B) --> Q(A)Q(B)(-) electron transfer is slowed in the presence of Cu(2+). This slowing is similar to the metal ion effect observed for RCs from Rb. sphaeroides where Zn(2+) was bound to a specific site on the surface of the RC [Utschig et al. (1998) Biochemistry 37, 8278]. The coordination environments of the Cu(2+) sites were probed with electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, providing the first direct spectroscopic evidence for the existence of a second metal site in RCs from Rb. capsulatus and Rps. viridis. In the dark, RCs with Cu(2+) bound to the surface exhibit axially symmetric EPR spectra. Electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) spectral results indicate multiple weakly hyperfine coupled (14)N nuclei in close proximity to Cu(2+). These ESEEM spectra resemble those observed for Cu(2+) RCs from Rb. sphaeroides [Utschig et al. (2000) Biochemistry 39, 2961] and indicate that two or more histidines ligate the Cu(2+) at the surface site in each RC. Thus, RCs from Rb. sphaeroides, Rb. capsulatus, and Rps. viridis each have a structurally analogous Cu(2+) binding site that is involved in modulating the Q(A)(-)Q(B) --> Q(A)Q(B)(-) electron-transfer process. Inspection of the Rps. viridis crystal structure reveals four potential histidine ligands from three different subunits (M16, H178, H72, and L211) located beneath the Q(B) binding pocket. The location of these histidines is surprisingly similar to the grouping of four histidine residues (H68, H126, H128, and L211) observed in the Rb. sphaeroides RC crystal structure. Further elucidation of these Cu(2+) sites will provide a means to investigate localized proton entry into the RCs of Rb. capsulatus and Rps. viridis as well as locate a site of protein motions coupled with electron transfer.     

A system for site-specific mutagenesis of the photosynthetic reaction center in Rhodopseudomonas viridis.

The purple non-sulfur bacterium Rhodopseudomonas viridis contains a photosynthetic reaction center which has been structurally resolved to 2.3 A providing a unique basis for the study of biological electron transfer processes by the method of site-specific mutagenesis. Here we report the construction of a puf operon deleted mutant strain incapable of photosynthetic growth. The deletion was introduced with the help of a newly constructed suicide vector by electroporation which is with conjugation another gene transfer system for R. viridis. The deletion strain was complemented by conjugational gene transfer with wild-type (WT) and mutated LM genes of the puf operon. The complemented WT and mutations YL162F and HL153F grew photosynthetically, expressed and assembled the four subunits L, M, H and Cyt c of the reaction center correctly. These first mutations already demonstrate the value of the R. viridis system for a detailed structure-function analysis of photosynthetic electron transfer.     

Pressure effects on the photochemistry of bacterial photosynthetic reaction centers from Rhodobacter sphaeroides R-26 and Rhodopseudomonas viridis

Electron-transfer reactions and triplet decay rates have been studied at pressures up to 300 MPa. In reaction centers from Rhodobacter sphaeroides R-26, high pressure hastened the electron transfers from both the primary and secondary quinones (Q_A and Q_B) to the primary electron donor bacteriochlorophyll, P. Motion of Q_A between two sites, one nearer to P and the other nearer to Q_B, could account for these pressure effects. In reaction centers from Rhodopseudomonas viridis, charge recombination was slowed by high pressure. Decay rates were also studied for the triplet state, P^R. In Rb. sphaeroides R-26 with Q_A reduced with Na₂S₂O₄, the decay was hastened by pressure. This could be explained if P^R decays through a charge-transfer triplet state, or if the decay kinetics of P^R are sensitive to the distance between P and Q_A⁻. In Rps. viridis reaction centers, and in Rb. sphaeroides reaction centers that were depleted of Q_A, the lifetime of P^R was not altered by pressure.     

Calculated coupling of electron and proton transfer in the photosynthetic reaction center of Rhodopseudomonas viridis.

Based on new Rhodopseudomonas (Rp.) viridis reaction center (RC) coordinates with a reliable structure of the secondary acceptor quinone (QB) site, a continuum dielectric model and finite difference technique have been used to identify clusters of electrostatically interacting ionizable residues. Twenty-three residues within a distance of 25 A from QB (QB cluster) have been shown to be strongly electrostatically coupled to QB, either directly or indirectly. An analogous cluster of 24 residues is found to interact with QA (QA cluster). Both clusters extend to the cytoplasmic surface in at least two directions. However, the QB cluster differs from the QA cluster in that it has a surplus of acidic residues, more strong electrostatic interactions, is less solvated, and experiences a strong positive electrostatic field arising from the polypeptide backbone. Consequently, upon reduction of QA or QB, it is the QB cluster, and not the QA cluster, which is responsible for substoichiometric proton uptake at neutral pH. The bulk of the changes in the QB cluster are calculated to be due to the protonation of a tightly coupled cluster of the three Glu residues (L212, H177, and M234) within the QB cluster. If the lifetime of the doubly reduced state QB2- is long enough, Asp M43 and Ser L223 are predicted to also become protonated. The calculated complex titration behavior of the strongly interacting residues of the QB cluster and the resulting electrostatic response to electron transfer may be a common feature in proton-transferring membrane protein complexes.     

Aromatic amino acid aminotransferase of Escherichia coli: nucleotide sequence of the tyrB gene

The tyrB gene of E. coli K-12, which encodes aromatic amino acid aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.57) was cloned. The nucleotide sequence of about 2 kilobase pairs containing the gene was determined. The coding region of the tyrB gene and the deduced amino acid sequence revealed that the aromatic amino acid aminotransferase of E. coli is homologous with the aspartate aminotransferase.