Artificial Energy Conservation in Bacterial Photosynthetic Electron Transport

1976 ◽  
Vol 31 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 152-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Achim Trebst

Abstract In photosynthesis of chloroplasts and bacterial chromatophores an induced artificial electron flow bypass may restore the inhibition of electron flow and of coupled ATP formation by two possible mechanisms. An artificial transmembrane electron flow bypass will lead to artificial energy conservation, when the redox reaction cycle of the added mediator across the membrane acts as proton pump. In an artificial internal electron flow bypass an inhibited native energy conservation may be reactivated; here an electron flow bypass induced by the mediator in the inside space restores the native proton translocation. The inhibition and the restoration of electron flow by antimycin, dibromothymoquinone and valinomycin is compared.

Several plastoquinones with different or modified side chains have been characterized in plant material: they are localized in the inner thylakoid membrane of the chloroplast. So far only plastoquinone-45 (PQ-45) has been identified as an obligatory functional component of the photosynthetic electron transport chain in chloroplasts between photosystem II and photosystem I. A special form (semiquinone) of PQ-45 acts as primary acceptor Q of photosystem II, a large pool of PQ-45 as electron buffer, interconnecting several electron transport chains. The rôle of PQ, in energy conservation (ATP formation) is of particular current interest. Owing to vectorial electron flow across the thylakoid membrane, plastoquinone is thought to be reduced on the outside and plastohydroquinone to be oxidized on the inside of the membrane. This results in a proton translocation across the membrane and a build-up of a proton motive force which drives ATP formation. Old and new plastoquinone antagonists are described and the relevance of inhibitor studies on the rôle of plastoquinone in electron flow and photophosphorylation is discussed. Open questions and current problems of the mechanism of plastoquinone/plastoquinol transport across the membrane - and of proton translocation connected to it - relevant for the mechanism of energy conservation in photosynthesis, are pointed out.


Weed Science ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. J. Bethlenfalvay ◽  
P. A. Castelfranco

The effect of diuron [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea], desmedipham [ethyl m-hydroxycarbanilate carbanilate(ester)], propanil (3′,4′-dichloropropionanilide), and dibromothymoquinone (DBMIB) (2,5-dibromo-3-methyl-6-isopropyl-p-benzoquinone) on proton translocation and photophosphorylation in isolated spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) chloroplast fragments was investigated. In the absence of added cofactors, O2, or artificial electron acceptors, cyclic electron transport occurred, which was coupled to energy conservation. Under aerobic conditions O2 acted as the terminal acceptor in non-cyclic electron transport. Proton translocation and photophosphorylation in the cyclic process were enhanced by diuron, desmedipham, and propanil, while in the non-cyclic process they were inhibited by all three herbicides. DBMIB inhibited proton translocation and photophosphorylation in both processes. Proton translocation and its enhancement increased with increasing light intensities. The finding that the plastoquinone (PQ) antagonist DBMIB disrupted cyclic as well as noncyclic electron flow, while diuron enhanced the cyclic and inhibited the noncyclic process, indicated that the acceptor site for endogenously-cycling electrons must lie between the active site of diuron inhibition and PQ, The close similarity in the behavior of diuron, desmedipham, and propanil suggests that their site of action is the same.


1984 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 374-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. S. van Rensen

The reactivation of the Hill reaction in CO2-depleted broken chloroplasts by various concentrations of bicarbonate was measured in the absence and in the presence of photosystem II herbicides. It appears that these herbicides decrease the apparent affinity of the thylakoid membrane for bicarbonate. Different characteristics of bicarbonate binding were observed in chloroplasts of triazine-resistant Amaranthus hybridus compared to the triazine-sensitive biotype. It is concluded that photosystem II herbicides, bicarbonate and formate interact with each other in their binding to the Qв-protein and their interference with photosynthetic electron transport.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 2903-2914 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrey Kanygin ◽  
Yuval Milrad ◽  
Chandrasekhar Thummala ◽  
Kiera Reifschneider ◽  
Patricia Baker ◽  
...  

Photosystem I-hydrogenase chimera intercepts electron flow directly from the photosynthetic electron transport chain and directs it to hydrogen production.


1980 ◽  
Vol 35 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 293-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. V. Sane ◽  
Udo Johanningmeier

Abstract Low concentrations (10 µM) of tetranitromethane inhibit noncyclic electron transport in spinach chloroplasts. A study of different partial electron transport reactions shows that tetranitromethane primarily interferes with the electron flow from water to PS II. At higher concentrations the oxidation of plastohydroquinone is also inhibited. Because diphenyl carbazide but not Mn2+ ions can donate electrons efficiently to PS II in the presence of tetranitromethane it is suggested that it blocks the donor side of PS II prior to donation of electrons by diphenyl carbazide. The pH dependence of the inhibition by this protein modifying reagent may indicate that a functional-SH group is essential for a protein, which mediates electron transport between the water splitting complex and the reaction center of PS II.


2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Bellan ◽  
Francesca Bucci ◽  
Giorgio Perin ◽  
Alessandro Alboresi ◽  
Tomas Morosinotto

Abstract In nature, photosynthetic organisms are exposed to highly dynamic environmental conditions where the excitation energy and electron flow in the photosynthetic apparatus need to be continuously modulated. Fluctuations in incident light are particularly challenging because they drive oversaturation of photosynthesis with consequent oxidative stress and photoinhibition. Plants and algae have evolved several mechanisms to modulate their photosynthetic machinery to cope with light dynamics, such as thermal dissipation of excited chlorophyll states (non-photochemical quenching, NPQ) and regulation of electron transport. The regulatory mechanisms involved in the response to light dynamics have adapted during evolution, and exploring biodiversity is a valuable strategy for expanding our understanding of their biological roles. In this work, we investigated the response to fluctuating light in Nannochloropsis gaditana, a eukaryotic microalga of the phylum Heterokonta originating from a secondary endosymbiotic event. Nannochloropsis gaditana is negatively affected by light fluctuations, leading to large reductions in growth and photosynthetic electron transport. Exposure to light fluctuations specifically damages photosystem I, likely because of the ineffective regulation of electron transport in this species. The role of NPQ, also assessed using a mutant strain specifically depleted of this response, was instead found to be minor, especially in responding to the fastest light fluctuations.


1981 ◽  
Vol 36 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 848-852 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Draber ◽  
H. J. Knops ◽  
A. Trebst

Abstract Several substituted diphenylethers were found to be effective inhibitors of photosynthetic electron flow in isolated thylakoid membranes from spinach chloroplasts. T heir site of inhibition was localized with artificial acceptor and donor systems. The phenylether of an alkyl substituted nitrophenol is prim arely inhibiting electron flow after plastoquinone function whereas a dinitro-phenylether of a phenyl substituted nitrophenol is inhibiting before plastoquinone function. Therefore certain diphenylethers interfere with plastoquinone function at the oxidation or reduction site, depending on the substitution.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (40) ◽  
pp. eabb5351
Author(s):  
E. Sanz-Luque ◽  
S. Saroussi ◽  
W. Huang ◽  
N. Akkawi ◽  
A. R. Grossman

Polyphosphate, an energy-rich polymer conserved in all kingdoms of life, is integral to many cellular stress responses, including nutrient deprivation, and yet, the mechanisms that underlie its biological roles are not well understood. In this work, we elucidate the physiological function of this polymer in the acclimation of the model alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to nutrient deprivation. Our data reveal that polyphosphate synthesis is vital to control cellular adenosine 5′-triphosphate homeostasis and maintain both respiratory and photosynthetic electron transport upon sulfur deprivation. Using both genetic and pharmacological approaches, we show that electron flow in the energy-generating organelles is essential to induce and sustain acclimation to sulfur deprivation at the transcriptional level. These previously unidentified links among polyphosphate synthesis, photosynthetic and respiratory electron flow, and the acclimation of cells to nutrient deprivation could unveil the mechanism by which polyphosphate helps organisms cope with a myriad of stress conditions in a fluctuating environment.


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