Electronic Structure of the Primary Electron Donor P700+• in Photosystem I Studied by Multifrequency HYSCORE Spectroscopy at X- and Q-Band

J Phys Chem B. 2021 Jan 14;125(1):36-48. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c09000. Epub 2020 Dec 24.

Abstract

The primary electron donor P700 of the photosystem I (PSI) is a heterodimer consisting of two chlorophyll molecules. A series of electron-transfer events immediately following the initial light excitation leads to a stabilization of the positive charge by its cation radical form, P700+•. The electronic structure of P700+• and, in particular, its asymmetry with respect to the two chlorophyll monomers is of fundamental interest and is not fully understood up to this date. Here, we apply multifrequency X- (9 GHz) and Q-band (35 GHz) hyperfine sublevel correlation (HYSCORE) spectroscopy to investigate the electron spin density distribution in the cation radical P700+• of PSI from a thermophilic cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus elongatus. Six 14N and two 1H distinct nuclei have been resolved in the HYSCORE spectra and parameters of the corresponding nuclear hyperfine and quadrupolar hyperfine interactions were obtained by combining the analysis of HYSCORE spectral features with direct numerical simulations. Based on a close similarity of the nuclear quadrupole tensor parameters, all of the resolved 14N nuclei were assigned to six out of total eight available pyrrole ring nitrogen atoms (i.e., four in each of the chlorophylls), providing direct evidence of spin density delocalization over the both monomers in the heterodimer. Using the obtained experimental values of the 14N electron-nuclear hyperfine interaction parameters, the upper limit of the electron spin density asymmetry parameter is estimated as RA/Bupper = 7.7 ± 0.5, while a tentative assignment of 14N observed in the HYSCORE spectra yields RB/A = 3.1 ± 0.5.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Chlorophyll
  • Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy
  • Electron Transport
  • Electronics
  • Electrons*
  • Photosystem I Protein Complex*

Substances

  • Photosystem I Protein Complex
  • Chlorophyll