title: Calcium binding studies of photosystem II using a calcium-selective electrode.
abstract: The identification of Ca2+ as a cofactor in photosynthetic O2 evolution has encouraged research into the role of Ca2+ in photosystem II (PSII). Previous methods used to identify the number of binding sites and their affinities were not able to measure Ca2+ binding at thermodynamic equilibrium. We introduce the use of a Ca2(+)-selective electrode to study equilibrium binding of Ca2+ to PSII. The number and affinities of binding sites were determined via Scatchard analysis on a series of PSII membrane preparations progressively depleted of the extrinsic polypeptides and Mn. Untreated PSII membranes bound approximately 4 Ca2+ per PSII with high affinity (K = 1.8 microM) and a larger number of Ca2+ with lower affinity. The high-affinity sites are assigned to divalent cation-binding sites on the light-harvesting complex II that are involved in membrane stacking, and the lower-affinity sites are attributed to nonspecific surface-binding sites. These sites were also observed in all of the extrinsic polypeptide- and Mn-depleted preparations. Depletion of the extrinsic polypeptides and/or Mn exposed additional very high-affinity Ca2(+)-binding sites which were not in equilibrium with free Ca2+ in untreated PSII, owing to the diffusion barrier created by the extrinsic polypeptides. Ca2(+)-depleted PSII membranes lacking the 23 and 17 kDa extrinsic proteins bound an additional 2.5 Ca2+ per PSII with K = 0.15 microM. This number of very high-affinity Ca2(+)-binding sites agrees with the previous work of Cheniae and co-workers [Kalosaka, K., et al. (1990) in Current Research in Photosynthesis (Baltscheffsky, M., Ed.) pp 721-724, Kluwer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands] whose procedure for Ca2+ depletion was used. Further depletion of the 33 kDa extrinsic protein yielded a sample that bound only 0.7 very high-affinity Ca2+ per PSII with K = 0.19 microM. The loss of 2 very high-affinity Ca2(+)-binding sites upon depletion of the 33 kDa extrinsic protein could be due to a structural change of the O2-evolving complex which lost 2-3 of the 4 Mn ions in this sample. Finally, PSII membranes depleted of Mn and the 33, 23, and 17 kDa extrinsic proteins bound approximately 4 very high-affinity Ca2+ per PSII with K = 0.08 microM. These sites are assigned to Ca2+ binding to the vacant Mn sites.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8107, USA.
authors.forename: G N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Grove
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Brudvig
mesh_terms: D001665:Binding Sites; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D004492:Edetic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D007425:Intracellular Membranes / Q000378:metabolism; D017736:Ion-Selective Electrodes; D007700:Kinetics; D008345:Manganese / Q000378:metabolism; D045322:Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D045332:Photosystem II Protein Complex; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018724:Spinacia oleracea
chemical_list: D045322:Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins; D045332:Photosystem II Protein Complex; D011506:Proteins; C054266:photosystem II manganese-stabilizing protein; D008345:Manganese; D004492:Edetic Acid; D002118:Calcium