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Evaluation of the participation of ferredoxin in oxygen reduction in the photosynthetic electron transport chain of isolated pea thylakoids

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Abstract

The contribution to reduction of oxygen by ferredoxin (Fd) to the overall reduction of oxygen in isolated pea thylakoids was studied in the presence of Fd versus Fd + NADP+. The overall rate of electron transport was measured using a determination of Photosystem II quantum yield from chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, and the rate of oxidation of Fd was measured from the light-induced redox changes of Fd. At low light intensity, increasing Fd concentration from 5 to 30 μM in the absence of NADP+ increased the proportion of oxygen reduction by Fd from 25–35 to 40–60% in different experiments. This proportion decreased with increasing light intensity. When NADP+ was added in the presence of 15 μM Fd, which was optimal for the NADP+ reduction rate, the participation of Fd in the reduction of oxygen was low, no more than 10%, and it also decreased with increasing light intensity. At high light intensity, the overall oxygen reduction rates in the presence of Fd + NADP+ and in the presence of Fd alone were comparable. The significance of reduction of dioxygen either by water-soluble Fd or by the membrane-bound carriers of the photosynthetic electron transport chain for redox signaling under different light intensities is discussed.

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Abbreviations

A 1 :

Secondary electron acceptor in Photosystem I, phylloquinone

Chl:

Chlorophyll

DCMU:

3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea

FA, FB:

Terminal electron acceptors in Photosystem I, Fe–S clusters

F x :

Secondary electron acceptor in Photosystem I, Fe–S cluster

Fd:

Ferredoxin

FNR:

Ferredoxin-NADP-reductase

PETC:

Photosynthetic electron transport chain

PSI, PSII:

Photosystem I, Photosystem II

P700:

Reaction center chlorophyll of Photosystem I

Q A :

Primary (plasto)quinone electron acceptor in Photosystem II

\( V_{\text{e}}^{{{\text{Fd}} \to {\text{O}}_{2} }} \) :

Rate of electron flow from ferredoxin to O2

\( V_{\text{e}}^{{{\text{NADP}}^{ + } }} \) :

Rate of NADP+ reduction

\( V_{{{\text{O}}_{2} }} \) :

Rate of O2 concentration change in illuminated thylakoid suspension

\( V_{\text{e}}^{{{\text{O}}_{2} }} \) :

Rate of overall O2 reduction

\( V_{\text{e}}^{\text{tot}} \) :

Rate of total electron transport along the PETC

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Acknowledgments

We express our gratitude to Profs. K. Brettel, P. Setif, I. Proskuryakov, and to Dr. M. Mubarakshina for valuable discussions. We thank Dr. R. Lozier for help in preparing the manuscript. This study was supported by Grant 08-04-0141 from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research.

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Correspondence to Boris N. Ivanov.

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Kozuleva, M.A., Ivanov, B.N. Evaluation of the participation of ferredoxin in oxygen reduction in the photosynthetic electron transport chain of isolated pea thylakoids. Photosynth Res 105, 51–61 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-010-9565-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-010-9565-5

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