The I-D fluorescence transient. An indicator of rapid energy distribution changes in photosynthesis

The I-D transient in the chlorophyll fluorescence induction curve (Kautsky effect) is investigated in the view of recently discovered rapid changes in energy distribution between the two photosystems (Schreiber, U. and Vidaver, W., FEBS Lett., in the press). Fluorescence induction curves differ appreciably depending on whether measured at λ < 690 nm, originating in pigment system II, or at λ > 715 nm, which is in part from pigment system I. The differences occur as well in the rapid part of the induction curve (O-I-D-P) as in the slower P-S decay. Most significant changes in energy distribution are indicated in the region of the I-D dip, being induced by appropriate preillumination. The effect is studied by (a) comparing the individual fluorescence time courses at λ < 690 nm and λ > 715, (b) plotting F < 690 vs. F > 715 and (c) recording time courses of $\text{F < 690}\text{F > 715}$ ratios. In (a) the I and D characteristics are delayed at F > 715 relative to F < 690, which is accompanied by periods close to I and D, where the two emissions follow inverse courses. In (b) the I-D dip corresponds to a loop. And in (c) it is shown that a rapid ratio decay, reflecting increasing excitation of System I pigments, is initiated before the I-D dip. These data indicate that the I-D transient is caused by a rapid switch of energy distribution in favor of System I and the resulting stimulation of Q reoxidation via the electron transport chain. It is suggested that as with the slow fluorescence transients the rapid also can be understood as a composite of two different changes, (1) direct changes resulting from a switch in energy distribution, which are inverse for F < 690 and F > 715, and (2) indirect changes due to stimulated Q reduction or Q oxidation, which are parallel for both emissions. The rapid ratio decay, correlated to I-D, persists and is even stimulated in the presence of electron transport inhibitors. This and the speed of the phenomenon make it improbable that the rapid energy distribution changes are affected by an ion flux-induced mechanism. It is proposed that the electrical field across the thylakoid membrane is involved in the energy switch mechanism.     

Photo-inactivation of System II centers by carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone in Chlorella pyrenoidosa

In the presence of a high concentration of carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP) (4 · 10^?6 M), the S₂ and S₃ dark decays are accelerated and become biphasic with a first half-time of 0.6 s. The first fast phase of the decays does not correspond to a simple reduction of S₂, S₃ back to S₀, S₁ (i.e. to an acceleration of the deactivation reaction), but to a decrease in the number of oxygen-evolving System II centers. This photo-inactivation produced by CCCP is rapidly reversible in the dark.     

Radiative and non-radiative charge recombination pathways in Photosystem II studied by thermoluminescence and chlorophyll fluorescence in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803

The mechanism of charge recombination was studied in Photosystem II by using flash induced chlorophyll fluorescence and thermoluminescence measurements. The experiments were performed in intact cells of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803 in which the redox properties of the primary pheophytin electron acceptor, Phe, the primary electron donor, P₆₈₀, and the first quinone electron acceptor, Q_A, were modified. In the D1Gln130Glu or D1His198Ala mutants, which shift the free energy of the primary radical pair to more positive values, charge recombination from the S₂Q_A⁻ and S₂Q_B⁻ states was accelerated relative to the wild type as shown by the faster decay of chlorophyll fluorescence yield, and the downshifted peak temperature of the thermoluminescence Q and B bands. The opposite effect, i.e. strong stabilization of charge recombination from both the S₂Q_A⁻ and S₂Q_B⁻ states was observed in the D1Gln130Leu or D1His198Lys mutants, which shift the free energy level of the primary radical pair to more negative values, as shown by the retarded decay of flash induced chlorophyll fluorescence and upshifted thermoluminescence peak temperatures. Importantly, these mutations caused a drastic change in the intensity of thermoluminescence, manifested by 8- and 22-fold increase in the D1Gln130Leu and D1His198Lys mutants, respectively, as well as by a 4- and 2.5-fold decrease in the D1Gln130Glu and D1His198Ala mutants, relative to the wild type, respectively. In the presence of the electron transport inhibitor bromoxynil, which decreases the redox potential of Q_A/Q_A⁻ relative to that observed in the presence of DCMU, charge recombination from the S₂Q_A⁻ state was accelerated in the wild type and all mutant strains. Our data confirm that in PSII the dominant pathway of charge recombination goes through the P₆₈₀⁺Phe⁻ radical pair. This indirect recombination is branched into radiative and non-radiative pathways, which proceed via repopulation of P₆₈₀^* from ¹[P₆₈₀⁺Ph⁻] and direct recombination of the ³[P₆₈₀⁺Ph⁻] and ¹[P₆₈₀⁺Ph⁻] radical states, respectively. An additional non-radiative pathway involves direct recombination of P₆₈₀⁺Q_A⁻. The yield of these charge recombination pathways is affected by the free energy gaps between the Photosystem II electron transfer components in a complex way: Increase of ΔG(P₆₈₀^* ↔ P₆₈₀⁺Phe⁻) decreases the yield of the indirect radiative pathway (in the 22-0.2% range). On the other hand, increase of ΔG(P₆₈₀⁺Phe⁻ ↔ P₆₈₀⁺Q_A⁻) increases the yield of the direct pathway (in the 2-50% range) and decreases the yield of the indirect non-radiative pathway (in the 97-37% range).     

A study on the lateral distribution of the plastoquinone pool with respect to Photosystem II in stacked and unstacked spinach chloroplasts

The quenching of Photosystem II (PS II) chlorophyll fluorescence by oxidised plastoquinone has been used in an attempt to determine their relative distribution in the partition zone and stroma-exposed thylakoid membranes. Thus, the PS II-plastoquinone interaction was determined in stacked (2.5 mM MgCl₂) and largely unstacked (0.25 mM MgCl₂) membranes. A method to correct for spillover or other quenching changes at the different MgCl₂ concentrations, which would compete with the plastoquinone-induced quenching, was devised utilising the quinone dibromothymoquinone. This compound is demonstrated to behave as an ideal (theoretically) PS II quencher at both high and low MgCl₂ concentrations, which indicates that it distributes itself homogeneously between partition zone and stroma-exposed membrane regions. In passing from the stacked to the unstacked configuration, the PS II-plastoquinone interaction decreases less than the PS II-dibromothymoquinone interaction. This is interpreted to mean that plastoquinone is present in both the partition zone and stroma-exposed membranes, with somewhat higher concentrations in the stroma-exposed membranes. Thus, plastoquinone is well placed to transport reducing equivalents from the partition zones to the stroma-exposed membranes.     

Biogenesis of chloroplast membranes X. Changes in the photosynthetic specific activity and the relationship between the light harvesting system and photosynthetic electron transfer chain during greening of Chlamydomonas reinhardi y-1 cells

Specific activities of photophosphorylation and light-dependent pH rise at different stages of the greening process, have been measured as a function of the illumination intensity.     

Kinetics of the oxidation—reduction reactions of the photosystem II quinone acceptor complex,and the pathway for deactivation

When the photosystem II quinone acceptor complex has been singly reduced to the state Q_AQ^?_B, there is a 22 s half-time back-reaction of Q^?_B with an oxidized photosystem II donor (S₂), directly measured here for the first time. From the back-reaction kinetics with and without inhibitors, kinetic and equilibrium parameters have been estimated. We suggest that the state Q_AQ^?_B of the complex is formed by a second-order reaction of vacant reaction centers in the state Q^?_A with plastoquinone from the pool, and discuss the physico-chemical parameters involved.     

The role of the FtsH and Deg proteases in the repair of UV-B radiation-damaged Photosystem II in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803

The photosystem two (PSII) complex found in oxygenic photosynthetic organisms is susceptible to damage by UV-B irradiation and undergoes repair in vivo to maintain activity. Until now there has been little information on the identity of the enzymes involved in repair. In the present study we have investigated the involvement of the FtsH and Deg protease families in the degradation of UV-B-damaged PSII reaction center subunits, D1 and D2, in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803. PSII activity in a ΔFtsH (slr0228) strain, with an inactivated slr0228 gene, showed increased sensitivity to UV-B radiation and impaired recovery of activity in visible light after UV-B exposure. In contrast, in ΔDeg-G cells, in which all the three deg genes were inactivated, the damage and recovery kinetics were the same as in the WT. Immunoblotting showed that the loss of both the D1 and D2 proteins was retarded in ΔFtsH (slr0228) during UV-B exposure, and the extent of their restoration during the recovery period was decreased relative to the WT. However, in the ΔDeg-G cells the damage and recovery kinetics of D1 and D2 were the same as in the WT. These data demonstrate a key role of FtsH (slr0228), but not the Deg proteases, for the repair of PS II during and following UV-B radiation at the step of degrading both of the UV-B damaged D1 and D2 reaction center subunits.     

Studies on the mechanism of ADRY agents (agents accelerating the deactivation reactions of water-splitting enzyme system Y) on thermoluminescence emission

The effect of 2-(3-chloro-4-trifluoromethyl)anilino-3,5-dinitrothiophene (ANT-2p), known to be the most powerful ADRY agent (Renger, G. (1972) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 256, 428–439), on thermoluminescence has been investigated. Two thermoluminescence bands were analyzed: (a) the emission peaking at about 20–30°C caused by warming up of untreated chloroplasts, illuminated with a single 5 μs flash at room temperature and frozen rapidly to 77 K; and (b) the band emitted in the range of ?10 up 10°C after warming of chloroplast suspensions containing 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU) which were illuminated with a single 5 μs flash at ?15°C and frozen rapidly at 77 K. These bands were attributed to the recombination of the B ^?S₂(S₃) and X-320 ^?S₂ states, respectively (Rutherford, A.W., Crofts, A.R. and Inoue, Y. (1982) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 682, 457–465). It was found that: (1) The B ^?S₂(S₃) band is markedly diminished at very low ANT-2p concentrations of less than one molecule per 2000 chlorophylls. (2) The inhibition of the X-320 ^?S₂ band requires significantly higher concentrations of ANT-2p (50% peak reduction at one ANT-2p molecule per 100 chlorophylls). (3) Preflashing at room temperature before cooling to ?15°C diminishes the X-320 ^?S₂ band significantly in the presence of ANT-2p, while almost no effect is observed in its absence. (4) The state X-320 ^?S₂ decays monoexponentially with a half-lifetime of 2 min at ?15°C in the absence of ANT-2p. In the presence of one ANT-2p molecule per 800 chlorophylls the decay becomes biphasic with half-lifetimes of 0.5 and 2 min and an amplitude ratio of 2:3, respectively. The results obtained can be explained consistently by the function of ANT-2p as an ADRY agent acting as a mobile species within the thylakoid membrane at room temperature. At subzero temperatures, a ‘fixed-place’ mechanism appears to be operative. The implications for the ADRY effect and thermoluminescence are discussed.     

A Tris-induced change in the midpoint potential of Z,the donor to photosystem II,as determined by the kinetics of the back reaction

A new method of measuring the rate of the back reaction from the state Z⁺ P680 Q_A^? in Tris-washed chloroplasts is described. By using ratios of back reaction rates we demonstrate a Tris-induced change in the equilibrium between Z and P680 and attribute this change to an alteration of the midpoint potential of Z by Tris treatment. We also demonstrate that the previously observed inhibition of the back reaction by ADRY reagents can be localized at Z and understood in terms of electron donation to Z⁺ by ADRY reagents.     

Examination of chlorophyll fluorescence decay kinetics in sulfur deprived algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Chlorophyll fluorescence decay kinetics was measured in sulfur deprived cells of green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii with a home made picosecond fluorescence laser spectrometer. The measurements were carried out on samples either shortly adapted to the dark (‘Fo conditions’) or treated to reduce Qa (‘Fm conditions’). Bi-exponential fitting of decay kinetics was applied to distinguish two components one of them related to energy trapping (fast component) and the other to charge stabilization and recombination in PS 2 reaction centers (slow component). It was found that the slow component yield increased by 2.0 and 1.2 times when measured under ‘Fo’ and ‘Fm conditions’, respectively, in sulfur deprived cells as compared to control ones. An additional rapid rise of the slow component yield was observed when incubation was carried out in a sealed bioreactor and cell culture turned to anaerobic conditions. The obtained results strongly indicate the existence of the redox control of PS 2 activity during multiphase adaptation of C. reinhardtii to sulfur deficiency stress. Probable mechanisms responsible for the observed increased recombinant fluorescence yield in starved cells are discussed.     

Properties of ATP-driven reverse electron flow in chloroplasts

1. The reverse reactions induced by coupled ATP hydrolysis were studied in spinach chloroplasts by measurements of the ATP-induced increase in chlorophyll fluorescence reflecting reverse electron flow, and of the ATP-induced decrease in 9-aminoacridine fluorescence, representing formation of the transthylakoidal proton gradient (ΔpH). ATP-driven reverse electron flow was kinetically analysed into three phases, of which only the second and third one were paralleled by corresponding phases in ΔpH formation. The rapid first phase and formation of a ΔpH occur also in the absence of the electron transfer mediator phenazine methosulfate.2. The rate and extent of the reverse reactions were measured at temperatures in the range from 0 to 30°C. The rate of formation of ΔpH and of reverse electron flow were faster at high temperatures, but the maximal extent of ΔpH and chlorophyll fluorescence increase were observed at the lowest temperature. Considering rate and extent of the ATP-stimulated reactions, a temperature optimum around 15°C was found. Light activation of the ATPase occurred throughout the range studied. At 0°C and in the presence of inorganic phosphate the activated state for ATPase was maintained for more then 10 min.3. The ATP-induced rise in chlorophyll fluorescence yield was found to be of similar magnitude as the rise induced by 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU), when both were measured with an extremely weak measuring beam. It is concluded, that both effects, although derived via distinctly different pathways, are limited by the same electron donating or electron accepting pool.     

Light-, pH- and uncoupler-dependent association of chloride with chloroplast thylakoids

Studies of the association of Cl^? with Photosystem (PS) II in CF₁-containing thylakoid membranes revealed that photosynthetically active Cl^? is retained in a Cl^?-free medium unless it is sufficiently alkaline, uncoupling conditions are established and light is excluded. After treatment under such conditions, electron transport from water became dependent on added Cl^? under all conditions. Quantitative measurements of ³⁶Cl^? retention in the light revealed that there were about five Cl^? anions present in Cl^?-sufficient chloroplasts per PS II reaction center, and one-fourth of that in Cl^?-deficient samples. Uncouplers representing three different types of uncoupling mechanism were found to be effective mediators of Cl^? release from thylakoids. Since the ability to collapse a proton gradient probably is the only property shared by all the tested uncouplers, a proton gradient may be involved in the retention of Cl^?. As uncoupler-mediated Cl^? release did not depend on preillumination of our samples, a long-lived proton gradient must exist in dark-adapted chloroplasts which may not span the whole thickness of the thylakoid membrane. It is postulated that the Cl^? active in PS II reactions resides in a special membrane domain from which protons slowly equilibrate with those in the bulk solutions. Cl^? is thought to be released to the bulk phases only when the pH of the membrane domain is raised above a certain threshold by the action of uncouplers. This domain may be identical to the intramembranous compartment which has been postulated to be associated with PS II (Prochaska, L.J. and Dilley, R.A., (1978) Front. Biol. Res. Energ. 1, 265–274).     

Interaction of exogenous benzoquinone with Photosystem II in chloroplasts. The semiquinone form acts as a dichlorophenyldimethylurea-insensitive secondary acceptor

Chloroplasts were submitted to a sequence of saturating short flashes and then rapidly mixed with dichlorophenyldimethylurea (DCMU). The amount of singly reduced secondary acceptor (B^?) present was estimated from the DCMU-induced increase in fluorescence in the dark caused by the reaction: QB^?

Q^?B. By varying the time interval between the preillumination and the mixing, the time course of B^? reoxidation by externally added benzoquinone was investigated. It was found that benzoquinone oxidizes B^? in a bimolecular reaction, and does not interact directly with Q^?. When a sufficient delay after the preillumination was allowed in order to let benzoquinone reoxidize B^? before the injection of DCMU, the fluorescence increase caused by one subsequent flash fired in the presence of DCMU was followed by a fast decay phase ($\text{t}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{? 100 μ}\text{s}$). The amplitude of this phase was proportional to the amount of B^? produced by the preillumination. This fast decay was observed only after the first flash in the presence of DCMU. These results are interpreted by assuming a binding of the singly reduced benzoquinone to Photosystem II where it acts as an efficient, DCMU-insensitive, secondary (exogenous) acceptor.