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Analysis of photosystem II electron transfer with natural PsbA-variants by redox polymer/protein biophotoelectrochemistry

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Photosynthetica

Abstract

Redox polymer/protein biophotoelectrochemistry was used to analyse forward electron transfer of isolated PSII complexes with natural PsbA-variants. PsbA1- or PsbA3-PSII was embedded in a redox hydrogel that allows diffusion-free electron transfer to the electrode surface and thus measurement of an immediate photocurrent response. The initial photocurrent density of the electrode is up to ~2-fold higher with PsbA1-PSII under all tested light conditions, the most prominent under high-light [2,300 μmol(photon) m–2 s–1] illumination with 5 μA cm–2 for PsbA3-PSII and 9.5 μA cm–2 for PsbA1-PSII. This indicates more efficient electron transfer in low-light-adapted PsbA1-PSII. In contrast, the photocurrent decays faster in PsbA1-PSII under all tested light conditions, which suggests increased stability of high-light-adapted PsbA3-PSII. These results confirm and extend previous observations that PsbA3-PSII has increased P680+•/QA–• charge recombination and thus less efficient photon-to-charge conversion, whereas PsbA1-PSII is optimised for efficient electron transfer with limited stability.

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Abbreviations

Chl:

chlorophyll

Cyt:

cytochrome

DCMU:

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

LED:

light emitting diode

MES:

2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid

P680:

reaction centre chlorophylls

PEG-DGE:

poly(ethyleneglycol)diglycidylether

PET:

photosynthetic electron transfer chain

Phe:

pheophytin

POs :

redox-hydrogel

Q:

plastoquinone

ROS:

reactive oxygen species

β-DM:

N-dodecyl-β-D-maltoside

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44780, Bochum, Germany

    V. Hartmann, M. Rögner & M. M. Nowaczyk

  2. Analytical Chemistry–Center for Electrochemical Science (CES), Faculty of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44780, Bochum, Germany

    A. Ruff & W. Schuhmann

Authors
  1. V. Hartmann
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  2. A. Ruff
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  3. W. Schuhmann
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  4. M. Rögner
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  5. M. M. Nowaczyk
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Correspondence to M. M. Nowaczyk.

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Acknowledgements: We thank Claudia König and Melanie Völkel for excellent technical assistance. This work was financially supported by the Deutsch–Israelische Projektkooperation (DIP) in the framework of the project “Nanoengineered Optobioelectronics with Biomaterials and Bioinspired Assemblies” and by the Cluster of Excellence RESOLV (EXC 1069) funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.

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Hartmann, V., Ruff, A., Schuhmann, W. et al. Analysis of photosystem II electron transfer with natural PsbA-variants by redox polymer/protein biophotoelectrochemistry. Photosynthetica 56, 229–235 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-018-0775-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-018-0775-y

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