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Nomenclature for membrane-bound light-harvesting complexes of cyanobacteria

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Abstract

Accessory chlorophyll-binding proteins (CBP) in cyanobacteria have six transmembrane helices and about 11 conserved His residues that might participate in chlorophyll binding. In various species of cyanobacteria, the CBP proteins bind different types of chlorophylls, including chlorophylls a, b, d and divinyl-chlorophyll a, b. The CBP proteins do not belong to the light-harvesting complexes (LHC) superfamily of plant and algae. The proposed new name of CBP for this class of proteins, which is a unique accessory light-harvesting superfamily in cyanobacteria, clarifies the confusion of names of prochlorophytes chlorophyll binding protein (Pcb), PSII-like light-harvesting proteins and iron-stress-induced protein A (IsiA). The CBP complexes are a member of a larger family that includes the chlorophyll a-binding proteins CP43 and CP47 that function as core antennas of photosystem II.

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Abbreviations

CBP:

Accessory chlorophyll-binding proteins

CP43/CP47:

Core antenna of reaction center II

dCBP:

Accessory divinylchlorophyll binding proteins

IsiA:

Iron-stress-induced protein A

PBS:

Phycobilisomes

Pcb:

Prochlorophyte chlorophyll-binding protein complexes

PS:

Photosystem

RC:

Reaction center

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Acknowledgments

MC is supported by a University of Sydney research fellowship and thanks the Australia Research Council for financial support. This work has been supported in part by US DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-04ER15550 to REB.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Min Chen

  2. School of Information Technologies, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Yinan Zhang

  3. Departments of Biology and Chemistry, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA

    Robert E. Blankenship

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  1. Min Chen
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  2. Yinan Zhang
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Correspondence to Min Chen.

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Chen, M., Zhang, Y. & Blankenship, R.E. Nomenclature for membrane-bound light-harvesting complexes of cyanobacteria. Photosynth Res 95, 147–154 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-007-9255-0

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