Lamellar spacing of photosystem II membrane fragments upon dehydration studied by neutron membrane diffraction

The effect of dehydration on the lamellar spacing of photosystem II (PS II) membrane fragments from spinach has been investigated using neutron membrane diffraction at room temperature. The diffraction data reveal a major peak at a scattering vector Q of 0.049 Å−1 at a relative humidity (r.h.) of 90% corresponding to a repeat distance D of about 129 Å. Upon dehydration to 44% r.h., this peak shifts to about 0.060 Å−1 corresponding to a distance of 104.7±2.5 Å. Within experimental error, the latter repeat distance remains almost the same at hydration levels below 44% r.h. indicating that most of the hydration water is removed. This result is consistent with the earlier finding that hydration-induced conformational protein motions in PS II membrane fragments are observed above 44% r.h. and correlated with the onset electron transfer in PS II (Pieper et al. 2008, Eur. Biophys. J. 37: 657–663).