Researchers from Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Tsinghua University cooperated to determine the structure of the PSII-FCP supercomplex from a centric diatom Chaetoceros gracilis by cryo-electron microscopy at a novel resolution.
A large quantity of pigments is assigned in the supercomplex, which include 230 Chls a, 58 Chls c, 124 Fxs, and 2 Diadoxanthins (Ddx). Among these pigments, Chl c and Fxs are important for their ability to harvest blue-green light under water. One Ddx is confirmed in a monomeric FCP mediating the energy transfer towards the core, which render this Ddx as an ideal site for possible energy dissipation.
The paper was accompanied by a perspective written by Professor Claudia Büchel, one of the pioneers in the studies of diatom photosynthesis: "How diatoms harvest light". In this perspective, Prof. Claudia Büchel said: "The FCP structures solved are milestones on the way to understanding the high flexibility of LHC/FCP proteins, where the same purpose is served by similar proteins in a very different manner."
Fig.1. Model of a diatom PSII-FCPII supercomplex embedded in the thylakoid membrane (Image by IBCAS)
A research team led by Prof. CAI Qinghua from Institute for Hydrobiology (IHB) of Chinese Academy of Sciences has investigated benthic diatoms in high mountain streams (elevation ranges from 1600 to 2900 m a.s.l.) in Southwestern China. They applied spatial models to mode...
Photosynthesis, one of the most important biochemical and biophysical processes on earth, provides food and energy for nearly all living organisms (including human beings) in biosphere. Studying the structures and mechanisms of various machineries operating in photosynthe...
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