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Re-evaluation of the side effects of cytochrome b6f inhibitor dibromothymoquinone on photosystem II excitation and electron transfer

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Abstract

Dibromothymoquinone (DBMIB) has been used as a specific inhibitor of plastoquinol oxidation at the Q0 binding site of the cytochrome b6f complex for 40 years. It is thought to suppress electron transfer between photosystem (PS) II and I, as well as cyclic electron transfer around PSI. However, DBMIB has also been reported to act as a quencher of chlorophyll excited states. In this study, we have re-evaluated the effects of DBMIB on chlorophyll excited states and PSII photochemistry. The results show that DBMIB significantly quenches the chlorophyll excited states of PSII antenna even at low concentration (from 0.1 μM), lowering the effective excitation rate of the actinic light. It also acts as a potent PSII electron acceptor retarding the reduction of the plastoquinone pool with almost maximal potency at 2 μM. Altogether, these results suggest that experiments using DBMIB can easily be misinterpreted and stress on the importance of taking into account all these side effects that occur in the same range of DBMIB concentration used for inhibition of plastoquinol oxidation (1 μM).

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Abbreviations

Chl:

Chlorophyll

Cyt:

Cytochrome

DBMIB:

Dibromothymoquinone

DCMU:

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

PSII:

Photosystem II

Pheo:

Pheophytin

PQ:

Plastoquinone

QA and QB :

Primary and secondary electrons acceptors of PSII

TL:

Thermoluminescence

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Groupe de Recherche en Biologie Végétale, Département de Chimie-Biologie, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, C.P. 500, Trois-Rivières, QC, G9A 5H7, Canada

    Ahmed Belatik, David Joly, Surat Hotchandani & Robert Carpentier

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  1. Ahmed Belatik
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  2. David Joly
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  3. Surat Hotchandani
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  4. Robert Carpentier
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Correspondence to Robert Carpentier.

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Belatik, A., Joly, D., Hotchandani, S. et al. Re-evaluation of the side effects of cytochrome b6f inhibitor dibromothymoquinone on photosystem II excitation and electron transfer. Photosynth Res 117, 489–496 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-013-9798-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-013-9798-1

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