Some Physicochemical Peculiarities of Poplar Plastocyanins a and b
The redox potentials of poplar plastocyanins a and b (PCa, PCb) were determined by spectro photometric titrations of their reduced forms with [Fe(CN)6]3-. It was found that the two isoforms have the following millimolar extinction coefficients ε597, equilibrium constants Keq of one-electron exchange with [Fe(CN)6]4-/[Fe(CN)6]3-, and standard electron potentials E0′: PCa: ε597 = (4.72 ± 0.08) mM-1 cm-1, Keq = 0.133 ± 0.009, E0′ = (354 ± 11) mV; PCb: ε597 = (5.23 ± 0.16) mM-1 cm-1, Keq = 0.175 ± 0.010, E0′ = (363 ± 12) mV. The pH dependence of the redox potential of PCb was studied too. It was found, that the value of E0′ for PCb is constant in the pH range 6.5 - 9.5, but decreases in the range 4.8 - 6.5. On the whole, the dependence resembles that of PC from some well-known plant species, including poplar PCa. The changes of E0′ in the pH-dependent region for poplar PCb, however, are smaller and are 13 mV per pH unit, whereas in the other well-known plant species the changes are about 50 - 60 mV per pH unit. It has been assumed that the weaker pH dependence of E0′ of PCb accounts for some structural differences between PCa and PCb