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A model of the protein–pigment baseplate complex in chlorosomes of photosynthetic green bacteria

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Abstract

In contrast to photosynthetic reaction centers, which share the same structural architecture, more variety is found in the light-harvesting antenna systems of phototrophic organisms. The largest antenna system described, so far, is the chlorosome found in anoxygenic green bacteria, as well as in a recently discovered aerobic phototroph. Chlorosomes are the only antenna system, in which the major light-harvesting pigments are organized in self-assembled supramolecular aggregates rather than on protein scaffolds. This unique feature is believed to explain why some green bacteria are able to carry out photosynthesis at very low light intensities. Encasing the chlorosome pigments is a protein-lipid monolayer including an additional antenna complex: the baseplate, a two-dimensional paracrystalline structure containing the chlorosome protein CsmA and bacteriochlorophyll a (BChl a). In this article, we review current knowledge of the baseplate antenna complex, which physically and functionally connects the chlorosome pigments to the reaction centers via the Fenna–Matthews–Olson protein, with special emphasis on the well-studied green sulfur bacterium Chlorobaculum tepidum (previously Chlorobium tepidum). A possible role for the baseplate in the biogenesis of chlorosomes is discussed. In the final part, we present a structural model of the baseplate through combination of a recent NMR structure of CsmA and simulation of circular dichroism and optical spectra for the CsmA–BChl a complex.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr R. P. Cox for critical reading of the manuscript. This study was supported by the Danish National Research Foundation by grants to NCN, NUF, and MM. Support from Academy of Finland (contract No. 123801) is acknowledged by JL.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Insoluble Protein Structures (inSPIN), Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Aarhus University, Langelandsgade 140, 8000, Arhus C, Aarhus, Denmark

    Marie Ø. Pedersen & Niels Chr. Nielsen

  2. Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Langelandsgade 140, 8000, Arhus C, Aarhus, Denmark

    Marie Ø. Pedersen & Niels Chr. Nielsen

  3. Department of Chemistry, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, 40014, Jyvaskyla, Finland

    Juha Linnanto

  4. Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Ole Maaløes Vej 5, 2200, Copenhagen N, Denmark

    Niels-Ulrik Frigaard

  5. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230, Odense M, Denmark

    Mette Miller

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  1. Marie Ø. Pedersen
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  2. Juha Linnanto
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  3. Niels-Ulrik Frigaard
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  4. Niels Chr. Nielsen
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  5. Mette Miller
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Correspondence to Mette Miller.

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Pedersen, M.Ø., Linnanto, J., Frigaard, NU. et al. A model of the protein–pigment baseplate complex in chlorosomes of photosynthetic green bacteria. Photosynth Res 104, 233–243 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-009-9519-y

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