The plastoquinone pool as possible hydrogen pump in photosynthesis.

The function of the plastoquinone pool as a possible pump for vectorial hydrogen (H+ + e-) transport across the thylakoid membrane has been investigated in isolated spinach chloroplasts. Measurements of three different optical changes reflecting the redox reactions of the plastoquinone, the external H+ uptake and the internal H+ release led to the following conclusions: (1) A stoichiometric coupling of 1 : 1 : 1 between the external H+ uptake, the electron translocation through the plastoquinone pool and the internal H+ release (corrected for H+ release due to H2O oxidation) is valid (pHout = 8, excitation with repetitive flash groups). (2) The rate of electron release from the plastoquinone pool and the rate of proton release into the inner thylakoid space due to far-red illumination are identical over a range of a more than 10-fold variation. These results support the assumption that the protons taken up by the reduced plastoquinone pool are translocated together with the electrons through the pool from the outside to the inside of the membrane. Therefore, the plastoquinone pool might act as a pump for a vectorial hydrogen (H+ + e-) transport. The molecular mechanism is discussed. The differences between this hydrogen pump of chloroplasts and the proton pump of Halobacteria are outlined.     

Photosystem II energy coupling in chloroplasts with H2O2 as electron donor

NH₂OH-treated, non-water-splitting chloroplasts can oxidize H₂O₂ to O₂ through Photosystem II at substantial rates (100–250 μequiv · h^?1 · mg^?1 chlorophyll with 5 mM H₂O₂) using 2,5-dimethyl-p-benzoquinone as an electron acceptor in the presence of the plastoquinone antagonist dibromothymoquinone. This H₂O₂ → Photosystem II → dimethylquinone reaction supports phosphorylation with a $\text{P}\text{e}{}_2$ ratio of 0.25–0.35 and proton uptake with $\text{H}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{e}$ values of 0.67 (pH 8)–0.85 (pH 6). These are close to the $\text{P}\text{e}{}_2$ value of 0.3–0.38 and the $\text{H}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{e}$ values of 0.7–0.93 found in parallel experiments for the H₂O → Photosystem II → dimethylquinone reaction in untreated chloroplasts. Semi-quantitative data are also presented which show that the donor → Photosystem II → dibromothymoquinone (→O₂) reaction can support phosphorylation when the donor used is a proton-releasing reductant (benzidine, catechol) but not when it is a non-proton carrier (I^?, ferrocyanide).     

Rates of vectorial proton transport supported by cyclic electron flow during oxygen reduction by illuminated intact chloroplasts

The light-dependent quenching of 9-aminoacridine fluorescence was used to monitor the state of the transthylakoid proton gradient in illuminated intact chloroplasts in the presence or absence of external electron acceptors. The absence of appreciable light-dependent fluorescence quenching under anaerobic conditions indicated inhibition of coupled electron transport in the absence of external electron acceptors. Oxygen relieved this inhibition. However, when DCMU inhibited excessive reduction of the plastoquinone pool in the absence of oxygen, coupled cyclic electron transport supported the formation of a transthylakoid proton gradient even under anaerobiosis. This proton gradient collapsed in the presence of oxygen. Under aerobic conditions, and when KCN inhibited ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase and ascorbate peroxidase, fluorescence quenching indicated the formation of a transthylakoid proton gradient which was larger with oxygen in the Mehler reaction as electron acceptor than with methylviologen at similar rates of linear electron transport. Apparently, cyclic electron transport occured simultaneously with linear electron transport, when oxygen was available as electron acceptor, but not when methylviologen accepted electrons from Photosystem I. The ratio of cyclic to linear electron transport could be increased by low concentrations of DCMU. This shows that even under aerobic conditions cyclic electron transport is limited in isolated intact chloroplasts by excessive reduction of electron carriers. In fact, P₇₀₀ in the reaction center of Photosystem I remained reduced in illuminated isolated chloroplasts under conditions which resulted in extensive oxidation of P₇₀₀ in leaves. This shows that regulation of Photosystem II activity is less effective in isolated chloroplasts than in leaves. Assuming that a Q-cycle supports a H⁺/e ratio of 3 during slow linear electron transport, vectorial proton transport coupled to Photosystem I-dependent cyclic electron flow could be calculated. The highest calculated rate of Photosystem I-dependent proton transport, which was not yet light-saturated, was 330 mol protons (mg chlorophyll h)^–1 in intact chloroplasts. If H⁺/e is not three but two proton transfer is not 330 but 220 mol (mg Chl H)^–1. Differences in the regulation of cyclic electron transport in isolated chloroplasts and in leaves are discussed.     

Photooxidation of ferrocyanide and iodide ions and associated phosphorylation in NH2OH-treated chloroplasts

NH₂OH-treated, non-water oxidizing chloroplasts are shown to be capable of oxidizing ferrocyanide and I^? via Photosystem II at appreciable rates (? 200 μequiv/h per mg chlorophyll). Using methylviologen as electron acceptor, ferrocyanide oxidation can be measured as O₂ uptake, as ferricyanide formation, or as H⁺ consumption (2 Fe²⁺ + 2H⁺ + O₂ → 2 Fe³⁺ + H₂O₂). I^? oxidation can be measured as methylviologen-mediated O₂ uptake, or spectrophotometrically, using ferricyanide as electron acceptor. The oxidation product I₂ is re-reduced, as it is formed, by unknown reducing substances in the reaction system.The rate-saturating concentrations of these donors are very high: 30 mM with ferricyanide and 15 mM with I^?. Relatively lipophilic Photosystem II donors such as catechol, benzidine and p-aminophenol saturate the photooxidation rate at much lower concentrations (< 0.5 mM). It thus seems that the oxidation of hydrophilic reductants such as ferricyanide and I^? is limited by permeability barriers. Very likely the site of Photosystem II oxidation is embedded in the thylakoid membrane or is situated on the inner surface of the membrane.The efficiency of phosphorylation (P/e₂) is 0.5 to 0.6 with ferrocyanide and about 0.5 with I^?. In contrast the P/e₂ ratio is 1.0 to 1.2 when water, catechol, p-aminophenol or benzidine serves as electron donor. These differences imply that only one of two phosphorylation sites operate when ferrocyanide and I^? are oxidized. Ferrocyanide and I^? are also chemically distinct from other Photosystem II donors in that their oxidation does not involve proton release. It is suggested that the mechanism of energy conservation associated with Photosystem II may be only operative when the removal of electrons from the donor results in release of protons (i.e. with water, hydroquinones, phenylamines, etc.).     

Inhibition of plastoquinol oxidation at the cytochrome b6f complex by dinitrophenyl ether of iodonitrothymol (DNP-INT) depends on irradiance and H+ uptake by thylakoid membranes

Inhibitory analysis is a useful tool for studying reactions in the photosynthetic apparatus. After introducing by Aachim Trebst in 1978, dinitrophenylether of iodonitrothymol (DNP-INT), a competitive inhibitor of plastoquinol oxidation at the cytochrome (cyt.) b₆f complex, has been widely applied to study reactions occurring in the plastoquinone pool and the cyt. b₆f complex. Here we examine the inhibitory efficiency of DNP-INT by implementing three approaches to estimate the extent of blockage of electron flow from the plastoquinone pool to photosystem I in isolated thylakoids from spinach (Spinacia oleracea). We confirm that DNP-INT is a potent inhibitor of electron flow to photosystem I and demonstrate that inhibitory action of DNP-INT depends on irradiance and H⁺ uptake by thylakoid membranes. Based on these findings, we infer that affinity of the quinol-oxidizing site of the cyt. b₆f complex to DNP-INT is increased in the light due to hydrogen bonding between DNP-INT molecules and acidic amino acid residue(s), which is (are) protonated in the light.     

On the functional organization of electron transport from plastoquinone to Photosystem I

Signal I, the EPR signal of P-700, induced by long flashes as well as the rate of linear electron transport are investigated at partial inhibition of electron transport in chloroplasts. Inhibition of plastoquinol oxidation by dibromothymoquinone and bathophenanthroline, inhibition of plastocyanin by KCN and HgCl₂, and inhibition by 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide are used to study a possible electron exchange between electron-transport chains after plastoquinone. (1) At partial inhibition of plastocyanin the reduction kinetics of P-700⁺ show a fast component comparable to that in control chloroplasts and a new slow component. The slow component indicates P-700⁺ which is not accessible to residual active plastocyanin under these conditions. We conclude that P-700 is reduced via complexed plastocyanin. (2) The rate of linear electron transport at continuous illumination decreases immediately when increasing amounts of plastocyanin are inhibited by KCN incubation. This is not consistent with an oxidation of cytochrome f by a mobile pool of plastocyanin with respect to the reaction rates of plastocyanin being more than an order of magnitude faster than the rate-limiting step of linear electron transport. It is evidence for a complex between the cytochrome b₆ - f complex and plastocyanin. The number of these complexes with active plastocyanin is concluded to control the rate-limiting plastoquinol oxidation. (3) Partial inhibition of the electron transfer between plastoquinone and cytochrome f by dibromothymoquinone and bathophenanthroline causes decelerated monophasic reduction of total P-700⁺. The P-700 kinetics indicate an electron transfer from the cytochrome b₆ - f complex to more than ten Photosystem I reaction center complexes. This cooperation is concluded to occur by lateral diffusion of both complexes in the membrane. (4) The proposed functional organization of electron transport from plastoquinone to P-700 in situ is supported by further kinetic details and is discussed in terms of the spatial distribution of the electron carriers in the thylakoid membrane.     

The hemoglobin of the crossopterygian fish, Latimeria chalumnae (Smith). Subunit structure and oxygen equilibria

There are five oxidation-reduction states of horseradish peroxidase which are interconvertible. These states are ferrous, ferric, Compound II (ferryl), Compound I (primary compound of peroxidase and H₂O₂), and Compound III (oxy-ferrous). The presence of heme-linked ionization groups was confirmed in the ferrous enzyme by spectrophotometric and pH stat titration experiments. The values of pK were 5.87 for isoenzyme A and 7.17 for isoenzymes (B + C). The proton was released when the ferrous enzyme was oxidized to the ferric enzyme while the uptake of the proton occurred when the ferrous enzyme reacted with oxygen to form Compound III. The results could be explained by assuming that the heme-linked ionization group is in the vicinity of the sixth ligand and forms a stable hydrogen bond with the ligand.The measurements of uptake and release of protons in various reactions also yielded the following stoichiometries: Ferric peroxidase + H₂O₂ → Compound I, Compound I + e^? + H⁺ → Compound II, Compound II + e^? + H⁺ → ferric peroxidase, Compound II + H₂O₂ → Compound III, Compound III + 3e^? + 3H⁺ → ferric peroxidase.Based on the above stoichiometries and assuming the interaction between the sixth ligand and heme-linked ionization group of the protein, it was possible to picture simple models showing structural relations between five oxidation-reduction states of peroxidase. Tentative formulae are as follows: [Pr·Po·Fe-(II) $\text{\$}\text{?}$PrH⁺·Po·Fe(II)] is for the ferrous enzyme, Pr·Po·Fe(III)OH₂ for the ferric one, Pr·Po·Fe(IV)OH^? for Compound II, Pr(OH^?)·Po⁺·Fe(IV)OH^? for Compound I, and PrH⁺·Po·Fe(III)O₂^? for Compound III, in which Pr stands for protein and Po for porphyrin. And by Fe(IV)OH^?, for instance, is meant that OH^? is coordinated at the sixth position of the heme iron and the formal oxidation state of the iron is four.     

Effect of pyridine homologues on the basal rate of electron transport and H+/e − ratio in chloroplasts

Low concentrations of hydrophobic pyridine homologues (1 mM) were found to increase the rate of the Hill reaction in chloroplasts without significantly affecting either the steady-state proton uptake or the rate of proton leakage in the dark. By assuming that the organic base can be bound to two types of independent binding sites in the thylakoid membrane with dissociation constantsK ₁ andK ₂ respectively, the kinetic data can be treated quantitatively. The values ofK ₁ andK ₂ determined by the treatment are in the same relative order as the hydrophobicities of the pyridine homologues:K ₁=1.16 mM andK ₂=54 mM for pyridine; 0.6 and 38 mM for 4-picoline; 0.27 and 31 mM for 4-ethylpyridine, 0.10 and 4.2 mM for 4-t-butylpyridine; 0.08 and 3.2 mM for 4-n-butylpyridine. The rates of oxygen generation and proton uptake by illuminated chloroplasts with either ferricyanide or 1,4-benzoquinone as the electron acceptor were also measured in the presence of various pyridine homologues. Low concentration of pyridine homologues were found to decrease the H⁺/e ^– ratio. This last observation seems to substantiate an indirect coupling mechanism between electron transport and proton translocation.Abbreviations Chl chlorophyll - CF₀ - CF₁ the coupling factor complex of chloroplast - FCCP carbonylcyanide-p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone - DCMU 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea - Tricine N-tris-(hydroxymethyl)methylglycine     

Concerted involvement of cooperative proton–electron linkage and water production in the proton pump of cytochrome c oxidase

In cytochrome c oxidase, oxido-reductions of heme a/Cu_A and heme a₃/Cu_B are cooperatively linked to proton transfer at acid/base groups in the enzyme. H⁺/e⁻ cooperative linkage at Fe_a3/Cu_B is envisaged to be involved in proton pump mechanisms confined to the binuclear center. Models have also been proposed which involve a role in proton pumping of cooperative H⁺/e⁻ linkage at heme a (and Cu_A). Observations will be presented on: (i) proton consumption in the reduction of molecular oxygen to H₂O in soluble bovine heart cytochrome c oxidase; (ii) proton release/uptake associated with anaerobic oxidation/reduction of heme a/Cu_A and heme a₃/Cu_B in the soluble oxidase; (iii) H⁺ release in the external phase (i.e. H⁺ pumping) associated with the oxidative (R → O transition), reductive (O → R transition) and a full catalytic cycle (R → O → R transition) of membrane-reconstituted cytochrome c oxidase. A model is presented in which cooperative H⁺/e⁻ linkage at heme a/Cu_A and heme a₃/Cu_B with acid/base clusters, C₁ and C₂ respectively, and protonmotive steps of the reduction of O₂ to water are involved in proton pumping.     

The photosynthetic water oxidase: its proton pumping activity is short-circuited within the protein by DCCD

The photosynthetic water oxidase is composed of ˜15 polypeptides which are grouped around two functional parts: photosystem II and the catalytic manganese centre. Photochemically driven vectorial electron transfer between the manganese centre and bound plastoquinone causes deprotonation–protonation reactions at opposite sides of the thylakoid membrane. Thereby the water oxidase acts as a proton pump. Incubation of stacked thylakoids with N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCCD) short-circuited its proton pumping activity. Under flashing light, the extent of both proton release into the lumen by water oxidation and of proton uptake from the medium by reduced quinone was diminished. Instead there was a rapid electrogenic backreaction with a strong H/D-isotope effect. Apparently protons which were produced by water oxidation were channelled across the transmembrane protein to the bound quinone. A more rapid protonation of the reduced quinone was evident from a shortening of the time lag for the reduction of photosystem I. These effects were paralleled by the preferential labelling with [¹⁴C]DCCD in stacked thylakoids of two polypeptides with 20 and 24 kd apparent molecular mass. These may be capping the oxidizing and the reducing terminus of the water oxidase to control proton extrusion and proton uptake respectively.     

Determination of H+e− ratios in chloroplasts with flashing light

Using a rapid pH electrode, measurements were made of the flash-induced proton transport in isolated spinach chloroplasts. To calibrate the system, we assumed that in the presence of ferricyanide and in steady-state flashing light, each flash liberates from water one proton per reaction chain. We concluded that with both ferricyanide and methylviologen as acceptors two protons per electron are translocated by the electron transport chain connecting Photosystem II and I. With methyl viologen but not with ferricyanide as an acceptor, two additional protons per electron are taken up due to Photosystem I activity. One of these latter protons is translocated to the inside of the thylakoid while the other is taken up in H₂O₂ formation. Assuming that the proton released during water splitting remains inside the thylakoid, we compute $\text{H}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{e}{}^{\mathrm{?}}$ ratios of 3 and 4 for ferricyanide and methyl viologen, respectively.In continuous light of low intensity, we obtained the same $\text{H}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{e}{}^{\mathrm{?}}$ ratios. However, with higher intensities where electron transport becomes rate limited by the internal pH, the $\text{H}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{e}{}^{\mathrm{?}}$ ratio approached 2 as a limit for both acceptors.A working model is presented which includes two sites of proton translocation, one between the photoacts, the other connected to Photosystem I, each of which translocates two protons per electron. Each site presents a ≈ 30 ms diffusion barrier to proton passage which can be lowered by uncouplers to 6–10 ms.     

Spin-probes designed for measuring the intrathylakoid pH in chloroplasts

Nitroxide radicals are widely used as molecular probes in different fields of chemistry and biology. In this work, we describe pH-sensitive imidazoline- and imidazolidine-based nitroxides with pK values in the range 4.7-7.6 (2,2,3,4,5,5-hexamethylperhydroimidazol-1-oxyl, 4-amino-2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-2,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-1-oxyl, 4-dimethylamino-2,2-diethyl-5,5-dimethyl-2,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-1-oxyl, and 2,2-diethyl-5,5-dimethyl-4-pyrrolidyline-1-yl-2,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-1-oxyl), which allow the pH-monitoring inside chloroplasts. We have demonstrated that EPR spectra of these spin-probes localized in the thylakoid lumen markedly change with the light-induced acidification of the thylakoid lumen in chloroplasts. Comparing EPR spectrum parameters of intrathylakoid spin-probes with relevant calibrating curves, we could estimate steady-state values of lumen pH_in established during illumination of chloroplasts with continuous light. For isolated bean (Vicia faba) chloroplasts suspended in a medium with pH_out = 7.8, we found that pH_in ≈ 5.4-5.7 in the state of photosynthetic control, and pH_in ≈ 5.7-6.0 under photophosphorylation conditions. Thus, ATP synthesis occurs at a moderate acidification of the thylakoid lumen, corresponding to transthylakoid pH difference ΔpH ≈ 1.8-2.1. These values of ΔpH are consistent with a point of view that under steady-state conditions the proton gradient ΔpH is the main contributor to the proton motive force driving the operation of ATP synthesis, provided that stoichiometric ratio H⁺/ATP is n ≥ 4-4.7.     

pH effects on light dependence of the stoichiometry of proton influx and efflux to electron transport in spinach chloroplasts

Initial and steady state rates of proton transport at low light intensity have been measured and compared with steady state rates of electron transport in the pH range of 6.0–7.6 in envelope-free spinach chloroplasts. At pH 6–7, the H⁺/e^- values computed using the initial rate of proton transport varied with light intensity, from a value of 2 at low light to almost 5 at high light. In contrast, the H⁺/e^- values computed using the steady state rate of proton transport did not show a dependence on light intensity, having a constant value of 1.7±0.2. Likewise, at pH 7.6, the H⁺/e^- ratio, computed using either the initial or steady state rates of proton transport did not vary with light intensity but was constant at H⁺/e^-=1.7±0.1. Analysis of the light dependence of electron and proton transport allowed determination of (a) the quantam requirements of transport, (b) the rates of transport at light saturation, and (c) H⁺/e^- ratios for initial and steady state proton transport. Extrapolating the initial proton transport to zero light, we found that both H⁺/photon and H⁺/e^- values were not strongly dependent on pH, approaching a near constant value of 2.0. Using the initial rate of proton transport extrapolated to saturating light intensity we found the H⁺/e^- ratio to be strongly pH-dependent. We suggest that internal pH controls electron transport at high light intensities. The true stoichiometry is reflected only in measurements taken at low light using the initial proton transport data. Our findings and interpretation reconcile some conflicting data in the literature regarding the pH-dependence of the H⁺/e^- ratio and support the concept that internal pH controls noncyclic electron transport.Abbreviations Bicine N, N-bis [2-hydroxyethyl] glycine - HEPES N-2-hydroxy-ethylpiperazine-N-2-ethansulfonic acid - MES 2-(N-morpholino) ethanesulfonic acid     

Photosynthetic control, “energy-dependent” quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence and photophosphorylation under influence of tertiary amines

The effects of the tertiary amines tetracaine, brucine and dibucaine on photophosphorylation and control of photosynthetic electron transport in isolated chloroplasts of Spinacia oleracea were investigated. Tertiary amines inhibited photophosphorylation while the related electron transport decreased to the rates, observed under non-phosphorylating conditions. Light induced quenching of 9-aminoacridine fluorescence and uptake of ¹⁴C-labelled methylamine in the thylakoid lumen declined in parallel with photophosphorylation, indicating a decline of the transthylakoid proton gradient. In the presence of ionophoric uncouplers such as nigericin, no effect of tertiary amines on electron transport was seen in a range of concentration where photophosphorylation was inhibited. Under the influence of the tertiary amines tested, pH-dependent feed-back control of photosystem II, as indicated by energy-dependent quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence, was unaffected or even increased in a range of concentration where 9-aminoacridine fluorescence quenching and photophosphorylation were inhibited. The data are discussed with respect to a possible involvement of localized proton flow pathways in energy coupling and feed-back control of electron transport.Abbreviations 9-AA 9-aminoacridine - J _e flux of photosynthetic electron transport - PC photosynthetic control - pH₁ H⁺ concentration in the thylakoid lumen - pmf proton motive force - _P potential quantum yield of photochemistry of photosystem II (with open reaction centers) - Q _A primary quinone-type electron acceptor of photosystem II - q _Q photochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence - q _E energy-dependent quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence - q _AA light-induced quenching of 9-amino-acridine fluorescence     

Possible roles of two quinone molecules in direct and indirect proton pumps of bovine heart NADH-quinone oxidoreductase (complex I)

In many energy transducing systems which couple electron and proton transport, for example, bacterial photosynthetic reaction center, cytochrome bc₁-complex (complex III) and E. coli quinol oxidase (cytochrome bo₃ complex), two protein-associated quinone molecules are known to work together. T. Ohnishi and her collaborators reported that two distinct semiquinone species also play important roles in NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I). They were called SQ_Nf (fast relaxing semiquinone) and SQ_Ns (slow relaxing semiquinone). It was proposed that Q_Nf serves as a “direct” proton carrier in the semiquinone-gated proton pump (Ohnishi and Salerno, FEBS Letters 579 (2005) 4555), while Q_Ns works as a converter between one-electron and two-electron transport processes. This communication presents a revised hypothesis in which Q_Nf plays a role in a “direct” redox-driven proton pump, while Q_Ns triggers an “indirect” conformation-driven proton pump. Q_Nf and Q_Ns together serve as (1e^?/2e^?) converter, for the transfer of reducing equivalent to the Q-pool.     

Cooperation of photosystem I with the plastoquinone pool in oxygen reduction in higher plant chloroplasts

The possible functions of a light-induced electron transfer to oxygen in the photosynthetic electron transport chain of higher plant chloroplasts are considered. The thermodynamic preconditions, as well as the experimental data about the participations of ferredoxin, the components of photosystems I and II, and plastoquinone in oxygen reduction are examined. It is concluded that, even in the presence of ferredoxin and ferredoxin + NADP⁺, oxygen reduction is carried out mainly by the membrane-bound carriers of the photosynthetic electron transport chain. The hypothesis is put forward that most superoxides, which are produced by reduction of O₂ molecules by the intramembrane components of the acceptor side of photosystem I, are reduced within the membrane by the plastohydroquinone molecules to the hydrogen peroxide. It is assumed that the H₂O₂ molecules that originate as the result of this process serve for signaling about the redox state of the plastoquinone pool. Published in Russian in Biokhimiya, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 1, pp. 137–144.     

Effect of 2,5-dibromo-3-methyl-6-isopropyl-p-benzoquinone on the secondary electron acceptor B of photosystem II

Measurements of chlorophyll fluorescence have been used to monitor electron transport from the primary electron acceptor of photosystem II, Q, to the secondary acceptor, B, in chloroplasts in either the presence or the absence of the plastoquinone analog 2,5-dibromo-3-methyl-6-isopropyl-p-benzoquinone (DBMIB). Electron transport is markedly slower from Q^? to either B or B^? in the presence of DBMIB. Binary oscillations in the rate of reoxidation of Q^? (equivalent to the reactions Q^?B → QB^? and Q^?B^? → QB^2?) after each of a series of flashes were of a phase opposite to those observed in the absence of DBMIB (J. M. Bowes, and A. R. Crofts, (1980) Biochim. Biophys. Acta590, 573–584). The results confirm that inhibition of electron transport by DBMIB in chloroplasts is not restricted to an inhibition of electron transfer from the plastoquinone pool, but that there is also a specific interaction between the reduced form of the inhibitor and the secondary electron acceptor B. Models are discussed to account for the mechanism of this interaction.     

Proton/electron stoichiometry of mitochondrialbc 1 complex. Influence of pH and transmembrane δpH

The effect of pH and transmembrane pH on the efficiency of the proton pump of the mitochondrialbc ₁ complex bothin situ and in the reconstituted state was studied. In both cases the H⁺/e ^– ratio for vectorial proton translocation by thebc ₁ complex respiring at the steady state, under conditions in which the transmembrane pH difference (pH) represents the only component of the proton motive force (p), was significantly lower than that measured under level flow conditions. The latter amounts, at neutral pH, to 1 (2 including the scalar H⁺ release). In the reconstituted system steady-state pH was modulated by changing the intravesicular buffer as well as the intra/extra-liposomal pH. Under these conditions the H⁺/e^– ratio varied inversely with the pH. The data presented show that pH exerts a critical control on the proton pump of thebc ₁ complex. Increasing the external pH above neutrality caused a decrease of the level flowH ⁺/e ^– ratio. This effect is explained in terms of proton/electron linkage inb cytochromes.