Shining light on dinoflagellate photosystem I

Nat Commun. 2024 Apr 18;15(1):3337. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-47797-1.

Abstract

Dinoflagellates are ecologically important and essential to corals and other cnidarians as phytosymbionts, but their photosystems had been underexplored. Recently, photosystem I (PSI) of dinoflagellate Symbiodinium sp. was structurally characterized using cryo-Electron Microscopy (cryo-EM). These analyses revealed a distinct organization of the PSI supercomplex, including two previously unidentified subunits, PsaT and PsaU, and shed light on interactions between light harvesting antenna proteins and the PSI core. These results have implications with respect to the evolution of dinoflagellates and their association with cnidarians.

MeSH terms

  • Chlorophyll
  • Dinoflagellida* / metabolism
  • Light
  • Light-Harvesting Protein Complexes / metabolism
  • Photosynthesis
  • Photosystem I Protein Complex* / metabolism
  • Photosystem II Protein Complex / metabolism

Substances

  • Photosystem I Protein Complex
  • Chlorophyll
  • Photosystem II Protein Complex
  • Light-Harvesting Protein Complexes