title: Confinement of cardiolipin and ubiquinone in reaction-center core complexes purified from the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides.
abstract: The core complex formed by the reaction center and the light harvesting complex 1 (RC-LH1) was purified from the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides. We analyzed the lipid and ubiquinone (UQ) complements copurifying with the RC-LH1 complex and with the peripheral antenna (LH2). In RC-LH1 UQ was almost ten times more concentrated than in the LH2 and in the native membranes from which the complexes were extracted. The fractional lipid composition of the RC-LH1 complex also differed from that of the intact membranes, exhibiting a marked increase in cardiolipin concentration. We propose that the confinement of cardiolipin and ubiquinone observed within the RC-LH1 complex, plays a role in vivo in the stabilization of the light-induced charge separation catalyzed by the RC.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia, Laboratorio di Biochimica e Biofisica, Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy. dezi.manuela@libero.it
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dezi
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Francia
authors.forename: Antonia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mallardi
authors.forename: Gerardo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Palazzo
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Venturoli
mesh_terms: D002308:Cardiolipins / Q000378:metabolism*; D045322:Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D012242:Rhodobacter sphaeroides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D014451:Ubiquinone / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002308:Cardiolipins; D045322:Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins; D014451:Ubiquinone