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Construction of hybrid photosynthetic units using peripheral and core antennae from two different species of photosynthetic bacteria: detection of the energy transfer from bacteriochlorophyll a in LH2 to bacteriochlorophyll b in LH1

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Abstract

Typical purple bacterial photosynthetic units consist of supra-molecular arrays of peripheral (LH2) and core (LH1-RC) antenna complexes. Recent atomic force microscopy pictures of photosynthetic units in intact membranes have revealed that the architecture of these units is variable (Scheuring et al. (2005) Biochim Bhiophys Acta 1712:109–127). In this study, we describe methods for the construction of heterologous photosynthetic units in lipid-bilayers from mixtures of purified LH2 (from Rhodopseudomonas acidophila) and LH1-RC (from Rhodopseudomonas viridis) core complexes. The architecture of these reconstituted photosynthetic units can be varied by controlling ratio of added LH2 to core complexes. The arrangement of the complexes was visualized by electron-microscopy in combination with Fourier analysis. The regular trigonal array of the core complexes seen in the native photosynthetic membrane could be regenerated in the reconstituted membranes by temperature cycling. In the presence of added LH2 complexes, this trigonal symmetry was replaced with orthorhombic symmetry. The small lattice lengths for the latter suggest that the constituent unit of the orthorhombic lattice is the LH2. Fluorescence and fluorescence-excitation spectroscopy was applied to the set of the reconstituted membranes prepared with various proportions of LH2 to core complexes. Remarkably, even though the LH2 complexes contain bacteriochlorophyll a, and the core complexes contain bacteriochlorophyll b, it was possible to demonstrate energy transfer from LH2 to the core complexes. These experiments provide a first step along the path toward investigating how changing the architecture of purple bacterial photosynthetic units affects the overall efficiency of light-harvesting.

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Abbreviations

AFM:

Atomic force microscopy

BChl:

Bacteriochlorophyll

CHAPS:

3-[(3-Cholamidopropyl)dimethyl-ammonio]propanesulfonic acid

Egg PC:

l-α-Phosphatidylcholine from egg yolk

(T)EM:

(Transmission) electron microscopy

FFT:

Fast Fourier transformation

LH1:

Light-harvesting 1

LH2:

Light-harvesting 2

LPR:

Lipid-to-protein ratio

NIR:

Near infra red

Rb. :

Rhodobacter

RC:

Reaction center

Rps. :

Rhodopseudomonas

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Acknowledgments

RF and HH thank Grant-in-aid (# 17204026, # 17654083) from Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Strategic International Cooperative Program from JST, and Research Center of Industry Innovation for financial supports. RJC and ATG thank the BBSRC for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, 3-3-138, Sugimoto, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, 558-8585, Japan

    Ritsuko Fujii, Shozo Shimonaka, Naoko Uchida, Mitsuru Sugisaki & Hideki Hashimoto

  2. Glasgow Biomedical Research Centre, Institute of Biomedical & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, 126 University Place, Glasgow, G12 8TA, Scotland, UK

    Alastair T. Gardiner & Richard J. Cogdell

Authors
  1. Ritsuko Fujii
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  2. Shozo Shimonaka
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  3. Naoko Uchida
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  4. Alastair T. Gardiner
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  5. Richard J. Cogdell
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  6. Mitsuru Sugisaki
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  7. Hideki Hashimoto
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Correspondence to Ritsuko Fujii or Hideki Hashimoto.

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Fujii, R., Shimonaka, S., Uchida, N. et al. Construction of hybrid photosynthetic units using peripheral and core antennae from two different species of photosynthetic bacteria: detection of the energy transfer from bacteriochlorophyll a in LH2 to bacteriochlorophyll b in LH1. Photosynth Res 95, 327–337 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-007-9260-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-007-9260-3

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