title: Effect of heptane-extraction on the stability of subunit organization of photosystem I reaction center complexes.
abstract: Treatment of lyophilized thylakoid membranes of the thermophilic cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. with n-heptane for 6 h resulted in marked changes in the pattern of photosystem I reaction center complexes resolved by sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. CP1-a, which consists of two large subunits and three small subunits, was a major chlorophyll-containing band resolved from the lyophilized thylakoid membranes, whereas the heptane-extracted membranes produced mainly CP1-e which totally lacks the small subunits. Electron transport from the primary donor P700 to the secondary acceptor P430 was not affected by the heptane-extraction of the membranes. The heptane-treatment removed 97% of β-carotene present in the membranes, whereas all chlorophyll a, a major part of xanthophylls, more than a half of phylloquinone and one third of plastoquinone remained unextracted. The data suggest that β-carotene has an important structural effect to stabilize the subunit organization of photosystem I reaction center complexes but is not essential for the early photochemical events of photosystem I.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pure and Applied Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, Komaba, Meguro-ku, 153, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Katoh