Transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana for rapid functional analysis of genes involved in non-photochemical quenching and carotenoid biosynthesis.

Plants must switch rapidly between light harvesting and photoprotection in response to environmental fluctuations in light intensity. This switch can lead to losses in absorbed energy usage, as photoprotective energy dissipation mechanisms can take minutes to hours to fully relax. One possible way to improve photosynthesis is to engineer these energy dissipation mechanisms (measured as non-photochemical quenching of chlorophyll a fluorescence, NPQ) to induce and relax more quickly, resulting in smaller losses under dynamic light conditions. Previous studies aimed at understanding the enzymes involved in the regulation of NPQ have relied primarily on labor-intensive and time-consuming generation of stable transgenic lines and mutant populations - approaches limited to organisms amenable to genetic manipulation and mapping. To enable rapid functional testing of NPQ-related genes from diverse organisms, we performed Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transient expression assays in Nicotiana benthamiana to test if NPQ kinetics could be modified in fully expanded leaves. By expressing Arabidopsis thaliana genes known to be involved in NPQ, we confirmed the viability of this method for studying dynamic photosynthetic processes. Subsequently, we used naturally occurring variation in photosystem II subunit S, a modulator of NPQ in plants, to explore how differences in amino acid sequence affect NPQ capacity and kinetics. Finally, we functionally characterized four predicted carotenoid biosynthesis genes from the marine algae Nannochloropsis oceanica and Thalassiosira pseudonana and examined the effect of their expression on NPQ in N. benthamiana. This method offers a powerful alternative to traditional gene characterization methods by providing a fast and easy platform for assessing gene function in planta

Vibronic mixing enables ultrafast energy flow in light-harvesting complex II.

Since the discovery of quantum beats in the two-dimensional electronic spectra of photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes over a decade ago, the origin and mechanistic function of these beats in photosynthetic light-harvesting has been extensively debated. The current consensus is that these long-lived oscillatory features likely result from electronic-vibrational mixing, however, it remains uncertain if such mixing significantly influences energy transport. Here, we examine the interplay between the electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom (DoF) during the excitation energy transfer (EET) dynamics of light-harvesting complex II (LHCII) with two-dimensional electronic-vibrational spectroscopy. Particularly, we show the involvement of the nuclear DoF during EET through the participation of higher-lying vibronic chlorophyll states and assign observed oscillatory features to specific EET pathways, demonstrating a significant step in mapping evolution from energy to physical space. These frequencies correspond to known vibrational modes of chlorophyll, suggesting that electronic-vibrational mixing facilitates rapid EET over moderately size energy gaps

Structural Diversity in Eukaryotic Photosynthetic Light Harvesting

Photosynthesis has been using energy from sunlight to assimilate atmospheric CO2 for at least 3.5 billion years. Through evolution and natural selection, photosynthetic organisms have flourished in almost all aquatic and terrestrial environments. This is partly due to the diversity of light-harvesting complex (LHC) proteins, which facilitate photosystem assembly, efficient excitation energy transfer, and photoprotection. Structural advances have provided angstrom-level structures of many of these proteins and have expanded our understanding of the pigments, lipids, and residues that drive LHC function. In this review, we compare and contrast recently observed cryo-electron microscopy structures across photosynthetic eukaryotes to identify structural motifs that underlie various light-harvesting strategies. We discuss subtle monomer changes that result in macroscale reorganization of LHC oligomers. Additionally, we find recurring patterns across diverse LHCs that may serve as evolutionary stepping stones for functional diversification. Advancing our understanding of LHC protein-environment interactions will improve our capacity to engineer more productive crops

Lutein can act as a switchable charge transfer quencher in the CP26 light-harvesting complex.

Energy-dependent quenching of excitons in photosystem II of plants, or qE, has been positively correlated with the transient production of carotenoid radical cation species. Zeaxanthin was shown to be the donor species in the CP29 antenna complex. We report transient absorbance analyses of CP24 and CP26 complexes that bind lutein and zeaxanthin in the L1 and L2 domains, respectively. For CP24 complexes, the transient absorbance difference profiles give a reconstructed transient absorbance spectrum with a single peak centered at approximately 980 nm, consistent with zeaxanthin radical cation formation. In contrast, CP26 gives constants for the decay components probed at 940 and 980 nm of 144 and 194 ps, a transient absorbance spectrum that has a main peak at 980 nm, and a substantial shoulder at 940 nm. This suggests the presence of two charge transfer quenching sites in CP26 involving zeaxanthin radical cation and lutein radical cation species. We also show that lutein radical cation formation in CP26 is dependent on binding of zeaxanthin to the L2 domain, implying that zeaxanthin acts as an allosteric effector of charge transfer quenching involving lutein in the L1 domain

Characterization of singlet oxygen-accumulating mutants isolated in a screen for altered oxidative stress response in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>When photosynthetic organisms are exposed to harsh environmental conditions such as high light intensities or cold stress, the production of reactive oxygen species like singlet oxygen is stimulated in the chloroplast. In <it>Chlamydomonas reinhardtii </it>singlet oxygen was shown to act as a specific signal inducing the expression of the nuclear glutathione peroxidase gene <it>GPXH/GPX5 </it>during high light stress, but little is known about the cellular mechanisms involved in this response. To investigate components affecting singlet oxygen signaling in <it>C. reinhardtii</it>, a mutant screen was performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mutants with altered <it>GPXH </it>response were isolated from UV-mutagenized cells containing a <it>GPXH</it>-arylsulfatase reporter gene construct. Out of 5500 clones tested, no mutant deficient in <it>GPXH </it>induction was isolated, whereas several clones showed constitutive high <it>GPXH </it>expression under normal light conditions. Many of these <it>GPXH </it>overexpressor (<it>gox</it>) mutants exhibited higher resistance to oxidative stress conditions whereas others were sensitive to high light intensities. Interestingly, most <it>gox </it>mutants produced increased singlet oxygen levels correlating with high <it>GPXH </it>expression. Furthermore, different patterns of altered photoprotective parameters like non-photochemical quenching, carotenoid contents and α-tocopherol levels were detected in the various <it>gox </it>mutants.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Screening for mutants with altered <it>GPXH </it>expression resulted in the isolation of many <it>gox </it>mutants with increased singlet oxygen production, showing the relevance of controlling the production of this ROS in photosynthetic organisms. Phenotypic characterization of these <it>gox </it>mutants indicated that the mutations might lead to either stimulated triplet chlorophyll and singlet oxygen formation or reduced detoxification of singlet oxygen in the chloroplast. Furthermore, changes in multiple protection mechanisms might be responsible for high singlet oxygen formation and <it>GPXH </it>expression, which could either result from mutations in multiple loci or in a single gene encoding for a global regulator of cellular photoprotection mechanisms.</p

Hexokinase is necessary for glucose-mediated photosynthesis repression and lipid accumulation in a green alga.

Global primary production is driven largely by oxygenic photosynthesis, with algae as major contributors. The green alga Chromochloris zofingiensis reversibly switches off photosynthesis in the presence of glucose in the light and augments production of biofuel precursors (triacylglycerols) and the high-value antioxidant astaxanthin. Here we used forward genetics to reveal that this photosynthetic and metabolic switch is mediated by the glycolytic enzyme hexokinase (CzHXK1). In contrast to wild-type, glucose-treated hxk1 mutants do not shut off photosynthesis or accumulate astaxanthin, triacylglycerols, or cytoplasmic lipid droplets. We show that CzHXK1 is critical for the regulation of genes related to photosynthesis, ketocarotenoid synthesis and fatty acid biosynthesis. Sugars play fundamental regulatory roles in gene expression, physiology, metabolism, and growth in plants and animals, and we introduce a relatively simple, emerging model system to investigate conserved eukaryotic sugar sensing and signaling at the base of the green lineage

A Sec14 domain protein is required for photoautotrophic growth and chloroplast vesicle formation in Arabidopsis thaliana.

In eukaryotic photosynthetic organisms, the conversion of solar into chemical energy occurs in thylakoid membranes in the chloroplast. How thylakoid membranes are formed and maintained is poorly understood. However, previous observations of vesicles adjacent to the stromal side of the inner envelope membrane of the chloroplast suggest a possible role of membrane transport via vesicle trafficking from the inner envelope to the thylakoids. Here we show that the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana has a chloroplast-localized Sec14-like protein (CPSFL1) that is necessary for photoautotrophic growth and vesicle formation at the inner envelope membrane of the chloroplast. The cpsfl1 mutants are seedling lethal, show a defect in thylakoid structure, and lack chloroplast vesicles. Sec14 domain proteins are found only in eukaryotes and have been well characterized in yeast, where they regulate vesicle budding at the trans-Golgi network. Like the yeast Sec14p, CPSFL1 binds phosphatidylinositol phosphates (PIPs) and phosphatidic acid (PA) and acts as a phosphatidylinositol transfer protein in vitro, and expression of Arabidopsis CPSFL1 can complement the yeast sec14 mutation. CPSFL1 can transfer PIP into PA-rich membrane bilayers in vitro, suggesting that CPSFL1 potentially facilitates vesicle formation by trafficking PA and/or PIP, known regulators of membrane trafficking between organellar subcompartments. These results underscore the role of vesicles in thylakoid biogenesis and/or maintenance. CPSFL1 appears to be an example of a eukaryotic cytosolic protein that has been coopted for a function in the chloroplast, an organelle derived from endosymbiosis of a cyanobacterium

Improving photosynthesis and crop productivity by accelerating recovery from photoprotection

Crop leaves in full sunlight dissipate damaging excess absorbed light energy as heat. When sunlit leaves are shaded by clouds or other leaves, this protective dissipation continues for many minutes and reduces photosynthesis. Calculations have shown that this could cost field crops up to 20% of their potential yield. Here, we describe the bioengineering of an accelerated response to natural shading events in Nicotiana (tobacco), resulting in increased leaf carbon dioxide uptake and plant dry matter productivity by about 15% in fluctuating light. Because the photoprotective mechanism that has been altered is common to all flowering plants and crops, the findings provide proof of concept for a route to obtaining a sustainable increase in productivity for food crops and a much-needed yield jump

A thylakoid membrane-bound and redox-active rubredoxin (RBD1) functions in de novo assembly and repair of photosystem II.

Photosystem II (PSII) undergoes frequent photooxidative damage that, if not repaired, impairs photosynthetic activity and growth. How photosynthetic organisms protect vulnerable PSII intermediate complexes during de novo assembly and repair remains poorly understood. Here, we report the genetic and biochemical characterization of chloroplast-located rubredoxin 1 (RBD1), a PSII assembly factor containing a redox-active rubredoxin domain and a single C-terminal transmembrane α-helix (TMH) domain. RBD1 is an integral thylakoid membrane protein that is enriched in stroma lamellae fractions with the rubredoxin domain exposed on the stromal side. RBD1 also interacts with PSII intermediate complexes containing cytochrome b 559 Complementation of the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (hereafter Chlamydomonas) RBD1-deficient 2pac mutant with constructs encoding RBD1 protein truncations and site-directed mutations demonstrated that the TMH domain is essential for de novo PSII assembly, whereas the rubredoxin domain is involved in PSII repair. The rubredoxin domain exhibits a redox midpoint potential of +114 mV and is proficient in 1-electron transfers to a surrogate cytochrome c in vitro. Reduction of oxidized RBD1 is NADPH dependent and can be mediated by ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase (FNR) in vitro. We propose that RBD1 participates, together with the cytochrome b 559, in the protection of PSII intermediate complexes from photooxidative damage during de novo assembly and repair. This role of RBD1 is consistent with its evolutionary conservation among photosynthetic organisms and the fact that it is essential in photosynthetic eukaryotes