An Intrinsically Disordered Photosystem II Subunit, PsbO, Provides a Structural Template and a Sensor of the Hydrogen-bonding Network in Photosynthetic Water Oxidation

When photosynthetic organisms developed so that they could use water as an electron source to reduce carbon dioxide, the stage was set for efficient proliferation. Algae and plants spread globally and provided the foundation for our atmosphere and for O 2 –based chemistry in biological systems. Light–driven water oxidation is catalysed by photosystem II, the active site of which contains a redox–active tyrosine denoted Y Z , a tetramanganese cluster, calcium and chloride. In 1995, Gerald Babcock and co–workers presented the hypothesis that photosynthetic water oxidation occurs as a metallo–radical catalysed process. In this model, the oxidized tyrosine radical is generated by coupled proton/electron transfer and re–reduced by abstracting hydrogen atoms from substrate water or hydroxide–ligated to the manganese cluster. The proposed function of Y Z requires proton transfer from the tyrosine site upon oxidation. The oxidation mechanism of Y Z in an inhibited and O 2 –evolving photosystem II is discussed. Domino–deprotonation from Y Z to the bulk solution is shown to be consistent with a variety of data obtained on metal–depleted samples. Experimental data that suggest that the oxidation of Y Z in O 2 –evolving samples is coupled to proton transfer in a hydrogen–bonding network are described. Finally, a dielectric–dependent model for the proton release that is associated with the catalytic cycle of photosystem II is discussed.

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Fast enzymatic HCO3- dehydration supports photosynthetic water oxidation in Photosystem II from pea

10.1101/2021.09.30.462629 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Alexandr V. Shitov ◽

Vasily V. Terentyev ◽

Govindjee Govindjee

Keyword(s):

Photosystem Ii ◽

Pisum Sativum ◽

Water Oxidation ◽

Photochemical Reactions ◽

O2 Evolution ◽

Donor Side ◽

Psii Photochemistry ◽

Similar Dependence ◽

Enzymatic Nature ◽

Photosynthetic Water Oxidation

Carbonic anhydrase (CA) activity, associated with Photosystem II (PSII) from Pisum sativum, has been shown to enhance water oxidation. But, the nature of the CA activity, its origin and role in photochemistry has been under debate, since the rates of CA reactions, measured earlier, were less than the rates of photochemical reactions. Here, we demonstrate high CA activity in PSII from Pisum sativum, measured by HCO3- dehydration at pH 6.5 (i.e. under optimal condition for PSII photochemistry), with kinetic parameters Km of 2.7 mM; Vmax of 2.74·10-2 mM·sec-1; kcat of 1.16·103 sec-1 and kcat/Km of 4.1·105 M-1 sec-1, showing the enzymatic nature of this activity, which kcat exceeds by ~13 times the rate of PSII, as measured by O2 evolution. The similar dependence of HCO3- dehydration, of the maximal quantum yield of photochemical reactions and of O2 evolution on the ratio of chlorophyll/photochemical reaction center II demonstrate the interconnection of these processes on the electron donor side of PSII. Since the removal of protons is critical for fast water oxidation, and since HCO3- dehydration consumes a proton, we suggest that CA activity, catalyzing very fast removal of protons, supports efficient water oxidation in PSII and, thus, photosynthesis in general.

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