Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Solving the structure of plant photosystem I—biochemistry is vital

  • Full Paper
  • Published:
Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The recently determined structure of plant photosystem I (PSI) provides the first relatively high-resolution structural model of a supercomplex containing a reaction center and its peripheral antenna. Large amounts of highly purified PSI were required to get enough crystals amenable for structural determination by X-ray crystallography. In addition, a deep biochemical understanding of the large supercomplex was vital for achieving the goal. The stability of PSI was analyzed by sucrose gradient centrifugation and gel electrophoresis. Small amounts of LHCI were detached from PSI following a 12 day incubation under crystallization conditions. The interaction between the reaction center and the peripheral antenna of PSI (LHCI) as well as the interactions among the LHCI monomers are flexible. Nevertheless, the pure and homogeneous preparation of PSI allows for relatively tight crystal packing, which holds promise for obtaining atomic resolution in the future.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. J. Barber, Photosystem II: a multisubunit membrane protein that oxidises water Curr. Opin. Struct. Biol. 2002 12 523–530

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. N. Nelson, A. Ben-Shem The complex architecture of oxygenic photosynthesis Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 2004 5 971–982

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. B. Kok, Absorption changes induced by the photochemical reaction of photosynthesis Nature 1957 179 583–584

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. B. Kok, Partial purification and determination of oxidation-reduction potential of the photosynthetic chlorophyll complex absorbing at 700 nm Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1961 48 527–533

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. C. Bengis and N. Nelson, Purification and properties of the photosystem I reaction center from chloroplasts J. Biol. Chem. 1975 250 2783–2788

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. C. Bengis and N. Nelson, Subunit structure of chloroplast photosystem I reaction center J. Biol. Chem. 1977 252 4564–4569

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. H. V. Scheller, P. E. Jensen, A. Haldrup, C. Lunde and J. Knoetzel, Role of subunits in eukaryotic Photosystem I Biochim. Biophys. Acta 2001 1507 41–60

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. P. E. Jensen, A. Haldrup, L. Rosgaard and H. V. Scheller, Molecular dissection of photosystem I in higher plants: topology, structure and function Physiol. Plant, 2003 119 313–321

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. J. E. Mullet, J. J. Burke and C. J. Arntzen, Chlorophyll proteins of photosystem I Plant Physiol. 1980 65 814–822

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. R. Bassi and D. Simpson, Chlorophyll-protein complexes of barley photosystem I Eur. J. Biochem. 1987 163 221–230

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. R. Croce, T. Morosinotto, S. Castelletti, J. Breton and R. Bassi, The Lhca antenna complexes of higher plants photosystem I Biochim. Biophys. Acta 2002 1556 29–40

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. N. Nelson, A. Ben-Shem Photosystem I reaction center: Past and future Photosynth. Res. 2002 73 193–206

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. A. Ben-Shem, N. Nelson and F. Frolow, Crystallization and initial X-ray diffraction studies of higher plant photosystem I Acta Crystallogr., Sect. D: Biol. Crystallogr. 2003 D59 1824–1827

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. A. Ben-Shem, F. Frolow and N. Nelson, The crystal structure of plant photosystem I Nature 2003 426 630–635

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. N. Nelson and A. Ben-Shem, in Photosystem I. Structure, Function and Regulation of Plant Photosystem I, ed. J. H. Golbeck, Kluwer academic publishing, Dordrecht, 2005, in press

  16. D. I. Arnon, Copper enzymes in isolated chloroplasts. Polyphenoloxidase in Beta vulgaris Plant Physiol. 1949 24 1–15

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. S. Zhang and H. V. Scheller, Light-harvesting complex II binds to several small subunits of photosystem I J. Biol. Chem. 2004 279 3180–3187

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. A. Ben-Shem, F. Frolow and N. Nelson, Evolution of Photosystem I - from Symmetry through Pseudosymmetry to Asymmetry FEBS Lett. 2004 564 274–280

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. A. Ben-Shem, F. Frolow and N. Nelson, Light-harvesting features revealed by the structure of plant photosystem I Photosynth. Res. 2004 81 239–250

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. C. P. Lunde, P. E. Jensen, A. Haldrup, J. Knoetzel and H. V. Scheller, The PSI-H subunit of photosystem I is essential for state transitions in plant photosynthesis Nature 2000 408 613–615

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. A. Haldrup, H. Naver and H. V. Scheller, The interaction between plastocyanin and photosystem I is inefficient in transgenic Arabidopsis plants lacking the PSI-N subunit of photosystem I Plant J. 1999 17 689–698

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. J. Knoetzel, A. Mant, A. Haldrup, P. E. Jensen and H. V. Scheller, PSI-O, a new 10-kDa subunit of eukaryotic photosystem I FEBS Lett. 2002 510 145–148*-*- *-*-*-

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, The Daniella Rich Institute for Structural Biology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel

    Alexey Amunts, Adam Ben-Shem & Nathan Nelson

Authors
  1. Alexey Amunts
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Adam Ben-Shem
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nathan Nelson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nathan Nelson.

Additional information

Dedicated to Professor James Barber on the occasion of his 65th birthday.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Amunts, A., Ben-Shem, A. & Nelson, N. Solving the structure of plant photosystem I—biochemistry is vital. Photochem Photobiol Sci 4, 1011–1015 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1039/b506132f

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/b506132f

Search

Navigation