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Three-dimensional structure of cyanobacterial photosystem I at 2.5 Å resolution

Nature volume 411, pages 909–917 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

Life on Earth depends on photosynthesis, the conversion of light energy from the Sun to chemical energy. In plants, green algae and cyanobacteria, this process is driven by the cooperation of two large protein–cofactor complexes, photosystems I and II, which are located in the thylakoid photosynthetic membranes. The crystal structure of photosystem I from the thermophilic cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus described here provides a picture at atomic detail of 12 protein subunits and 127 cofactors comprising 96 chlorophylls, 2 phylloquinones, 3 Fe4S4 clusters, 22 carotenoids, 4 lipids, a putative Ca2+ ion and 201 water molecules. The structural information on the proteins and cofactors and their interactions provides a basis for understanding how the high efficiency of photosystem I in light capturing and electron transfer is achieved.

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Figure 1: Structural model of PS I trimer at 2.5 Å resolution.
Figure 2: Cofactors of the electron transfer chain (ETC) and of PsaC.
Figure 3: Local environment of P700.
Figure 4: Local environment of membrane-intrinsic cofactors of the electron transfer chain.
Figure 5: Spatial organization of the cofactors of the ETC and the antenna system in one monomer of PSI.

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Acknowledgements

These studies are financially supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, by Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung and by Fonds der Chemischen Industrie. We thank D. DiFiore and H. Schmidt for technical assistance; W. Schroeder for supporting the analytical characterisation of the PSI preparations; B. Rasmussen and J. Lescar for long-term support during data collection at beamline ID2B at ESRF in Grenoble; and J. Hughes for reading and improving the manuscript. We particularly thank D. A. Bryant for discussions regarding PsaX and acknowledge R. Bittl, K. Brettel, M. Byrdin, P. Chitnis, J. Golbeck, B. Loll, W. Lubitz, E. Schlodder and D. Stehlik for discussions.

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Author notes

  1. Norbert Krauß

    Present address: Medizinische Fakultät der Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Institut für Biochemie, Universitätsklinikum Charité, Monbijoustraße 2, D-10117, Berlin, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Chemie/Kristallographie, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustraße 6, D-14195, Berlin, Germany

    Patrick Jordan, Olaf Klukas, Wolfram Saenger & Norbert Krauß

  2. Max Volmer Laboratorium für Biophysikalische Chemie, Institut für Chemie, Fakultät, 2

    Petra Fromme & Horst Tobias Witt

  3. Technische Universität Berlin, Straße des 17. Juni 135, Berlin, D-10623, Germany

    Petra Fromme & Horst Tobias Witt

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Jordan, P., Fromme, P., Witt, H. et al. Three-dimensional structure of cyanobacterial photosystem I at 2.5 Å resolution. Nature 411, 909–917 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35082000

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