Skip to main content
Log in

Macromolecular conformational changes in photosystem II: interaction between structure and function

  • Review
  • Published:
Biophysical Reviews Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract 

Conformational changes play an important role in the functioning of proteins and their complexes. This is also true for the pigment-protein super-complex of photosystem II (PSII). The data testify about the pH-induced macromolecular conformational changes in the water-oxidizing complex (WOC) on the donor side of PSII, the interaction between the spatial structure of WOC proteins and the distribution of cytochrome b559 redox-forms, and the electron transfer efficiency between QA and QB on the acceptor side of PSII. Changes in the protein environment near QA and QB can be observed after the removal of the bicarbonate ion associated with non-heme Fe or after the addition of herbicides binding to the QB site, which results in the suppression of the electron transfer in this site. The “locking” of the de novo assembled PSII in an inactive state until WOC activation is also accompanied by strong structural perturbations on the PSII acceptor and donor sides with the participation of Psb28 and Psb27 proteins. The triggers for degradation and replacement of damaged PSII proteins are structural changes induced by their oxidative modification and aggregation. Macromolecular changes in the antenna proteins underlie the activation of photoprotective non-photochemical quenching, which are induced by protonation of the lumenal residues of PsbS or/and Lhcsr3, as well as the phosphorylation of antenna proteins. Besides this, many smaller-scale conformational changes may occur in PSII. This review summarizes current knowledge about the possible conformational changes in proteins in the PSII super-complex and describes their proposed influence on PSII function.

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

Access this article

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

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vasily V. Terentyev.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

Not applicable.

Consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Conflict of interest

The author declares no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Terentyev, V.V. Macromolecular conformational changes in photosystem II: interaction between structure and function. Biophys Rev 14, 871–886 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12551-022-00979-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12551-022-00979-x

Keywords

Navigation