Structure of a dimeric photosystem II complex from a cyanobacterium acclimated to far-red light.
Gisriel, C.J., Shen, G., Flesher, D.A., Kurashov, V., Golbeck, J.H., Brudvig, G.W., Amin, M., Bryant, D.A.(2022) J Biol Chem 299: 102815-102815
- PubMed: 36549647 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102815
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
8EQM - PubMed Abstract: 
Photosystem II (PSII) is the water-splitting enzyme central to oxygenic photosynthesis. To drive water oxidation, light is harvested by accessory pigments, mostly chlorophyll (Chl) a molecules, which absorb visible light (400-700 nm). Some cyanobacteria facultatively acclimate to shaded environments by altering their photosynthetic machinery to additionally absorb far-red light (FRL, 700-800 nm), a process termed far-red light photoacclimation or FaRLiP. During far-red light photoacclimation, FRL-PSII is assembled with FRL-specific isoforms of the subunits PsbA, PsbB, PsbC, PsbD, and PsbH, and some Chl-binding sites contain Chls d or f instead of the usual Chl a. The structure of an apo-FRL-PSII monomer lacking the FRL-specific PsbH subunit has previously been determined, but visualization of the dimeric complex has remained elusive. Here, we report the cryo-EM structure of a dimeric FRL-PSII complex. The site assignments for Chls d and f are consistent with those assigned in the previous apo-FRL-PSII monomeric structure. All sites that bind Chl d or Chl f at high occupancy exhibit a FRL-specific interaction of the formyl moiety of the Chl d or Chl f with the protein environment, which in some cases involves a phenylalanine sidechain. The structure retains the FRL-specific PsbH2 subunit, which appears to alter the energetic landscape of FRL-PSII, redirecting energy transfer from the phycobiliprotein complex to a Chl f molecule bound by PsbB2 that acts as a bridge for energy transfer to the electron transfer chain. Collectively, these observations extend our previous understanding of the structure-function relationship that allows PSII to function using lower energy FRL.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Department of Chemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Electronic address: christopher.gisriel@yale.edu.