Structure of the plant photosystem I supercomplex at 2.6 Å resolution

Nat Plants. 2017 Mar 1:3:17014. doi: 10.1038/nplants.2017.14.

Abstract

Four elaborate membrane complexes carry out the light reaction of oxygenic photosynthesis. Photosystem I (PSI) is one of two large reaction centres responsible for converting light photons into the chemical energy needed to sustain life. In the thylakoid membranes of plants, PSI is found together with its integral light-harvesting antenna, light-harvesting complex I (LHCI), in a membrane supercomplex containing hundreds of light-harvesting pigments. Here, we report the crystal structure of plant PSI-LHCI at 2.6 Å resolution. The structure reveals the configuration of PsaK, a core subunit important for state transitions in plants, a conserved network of water molecules surrounding the electron transfer centres and an elaborate structure of lipids bridging PSI and its LHCI antenna. We discuss the implications of the structure for energy transfer and the evolution of PSI.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Crystallography, X-Ray
  • Electron Transport*
  • Energy Transfer*
  • Light-Harvesting Protein Complexes / ultrastructure*
  • Photosystem I Protein Complex / ultrastructure*
  • Pisum sativum / ultrastructure*
  • Thylakoids

Substances

  • Light-Harvesting Protein Complexes
  • Photosystem I Protein Complex