skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Correlated fluorescence quenching and topographic mapping of Light-Harvesting Complex II within surface-assembled aggregates and lipid bilayers

Journal Article · · Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Bioenergetics

Light-Harvesting Complex II (LHCII) is a chlorophyll-protein antenna complex that efficiently absorbs solar energy and transfers electronic excited states to photosystems I and II. Under excess light intensity LHCII can adopt a photoprotective state in which excitation energy is safely dissipated as heat, a process known as Non-Photochemical Quenching (NPQ). In vivo NPQ is triggered by combinatorial factors including transmembrane ΔpH, PsbS protein and LHCII-bound zeaxanthin, leading to dramatically shortened LHCII fluorescence lifetimes. In vitro, LHCII in detergent solution or in proteoliposomes can reversibly adopt an NPQ-like state, via manipulation of detergent/protein ratio, lipid/protein ratio, pH or pressure. Previous spectroscopic investigations revealed changes in exciton dynamics and protein conformation that accompany quenching, however, LHCII-LHCII interactions have not been extensively studied. Here, we correlated fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) of trimeric LHCII adsorbed to mica substrates and manipulated the environment to cause varying degrees of quenching. AFM showed that LHCII self-assembled onto mica forming 2D-aggregates (25–150 nm width). FLIM determined that LHCII in these aggregates were in a quenched state, with much lower fluorescence lifetimes (~0.25 ns) compared to free LHCII in solution (2.2–3.9 ns). LHCII-LHCII interactions were disrupted by thylakoid lipids or phospholipids, leading to intermediate fluorescent lifetimes (0.6–0.9 ns). To our knowledge, this is the first in vitro correlation of nanoscale membrane imaging with LHCII quenching. Our findings suggest that lipids could play a key role in modulating the extent of LHCII-LHCII interactions within the thylakoid membrane and so the propensity for NPQ activation.

Research Organization:
Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO (United States); Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Photosynthetic Antenna Research Center (PARC)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC UK); European Research Council (ERC)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC 0001035; SC0001035; BB/M013723/1; BB/M000265/1; 338895
OSTI ID:
1615096
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1566429
Journal Information:
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Bioenergetics, Journal Name: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Bioenergetics Vol. 1859 Journal Issue: 10; ISSN 0005-2728
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
Netherlands
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 17 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (70)

Thermal stability of trimeric light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b complex (LHCIIb) in liposomes of thylakoid lipids journal December 2006
Light-induced Dissociation of an Antenna Hetero-oligomer Is Needed for Non-photochemical Quenching Induction journal March 2009
The Specificity of Controlled Protein Disorder in the Photoprotection of Plants journal August 2013
Polarization control of metal-enhanced fluorescence in hybrid assemblies of photosynthetic complexes and gold nanorods journal January 2014
Importance of the hexagonal lipid phase in biological membrane organization journal January 2013
Controlled Disorder in Plant Light-Harvesting Complex II Explains Its Photoprotective Role journal June 2012
Adaptation of intracytoplasmic membranes to altered light intensity in Rhodobacter sphaeroides journal September 2012
Excited-State Energy Level Does Not Determine the Differential Effect of Violaxanthin and Zeaxanthin on Chlorophyll Fluorescence Quenching in the Isolated Light-Harvesting Complex of Photosystem II journal December 1998
Time-Resolved Fluorescence Analysis of the Photosystem II Antenna Proteins in Detergent Micelles and Liposomes journal October 2001
Galactolipid synthesis in chloroplast inner envelope is essential for proper thylakoid biogenesis, photosynthesis, and embryogenesis journal October 2007
Direct energy transfer from the major antenna to the photosystem II core complexes in the absence of minor antennae in liposomes journal February 2015
Quantum Yield of Charge Separation in Photosystem II: Functional Effect of Changes in the Antenna Size upon Light Acclimation journal April 2013
Mechanism of ΔpH-dependent dissipation of absorbed excitation energy by photosynthetic membranes. II. The relationship between LHCII aggregation in vitro and qE in isolated thylakoids journal August 1992
An ‘all pigment’ model of excitation quenching in LHCII journal January 2015
Single-Molecule Identification of Quenched and Unquenched States of LHCII journal February 2015
Disentangling protein and lipid interactions that control a molecular switch in photosynthetic light harvesting journal January 2017
Effect of monogalactosyldiacylglycerol on the interaction between photosystem II core complex and its antenna complexes in liposomes of thylakoid lipids journal November 2008
PsbS protein modulates non-photochemical chlorophyll fluorescence quenching in membranes depleted of photosystems journal November 2015
Nanodomains of Cytochrome b 6 f and Photosystem II Complexes in Spinach Grana Thylakoid Membranes journal July 2014
Phases and phase transitions of the phosphatidylcholines journal June 1998
Rapid Regulation of Light Harvesting and Plant Fitness in the Field journal July 2002
Photoprotective Energy Dissipation Involves the Reorganization of Photosystem II Light-Harvesting Complexes in the Grana Membranes of Spinach Chloroplasts journal April 2011
The role of energy losses in photosynthetic light harvesting journal June 2017
Disentangling the low-energy states of the major light-harvesting complex of plants and their role in photoprotection journal July 2014
Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Dynamic Lipid Membrane Reorganization: Tubules, Perforations, and Stacks journal June 2014
pH sensitivity of chlorophyll fluorescence quenching is determined by the detergent/protein ratio and the state of LHCII aggregation journal September 2014
Mechanisms of photoprotection and nonphotochemical quenching in pea light-harvesting complex at 2.5 Å resolution journal February 2005
Carotenoid Cation Formation and the Regulation of Photosynthetic Light Harvesting journal January 2005
A pigment-binding protein essential for regulation of photosynthetic light harvesting journal January 2000
Neutron Reflectivity and Atomic Force Microscopy Studies of a Lipid Bilayer in Water Adsorbed to the Surface of a Silicon Single Crystal journal January 1996
The Use of Contact Mode Atomic Force Microscopy in Aqueous Medium for Structural Analysis of Spinach Photosynthetic Complexes journal July 2015
Sensing and Responding to Excess Light journal June 2009
Multilayered Lipid Membrane Stacks for Biocatalysis Using Membrane Enzymes journal March 2017
Improving photosynthesis and crop productivity by accelerating recovery from photoprotection journal November 2016
Crystal structure of spinach major light-harvesting complex at 2.72 Å resolution journal March 2004
Architecture of a Charge-Transfer State Regulating Light Harvesting in a Plant Antenna Protein journal May 2008
Physical origins and models of energy transfer in photosynthetic light-harvesting journal January 2010
Lateral Segregation of Photosystem I in Cyanobacterial Thylakoids journal March 2017
Direct interaction of the major light-harvesting complex II and PsbS in nonphotochemical quenching journal March 2013
The light-harvesting chlorophyll ab-binding proteins journal February 1994
Natural strategies for photosynthetic light harvesting journal June 2014
Membrane biosensor platforms using nano- and microporous supports journal February 2008
Light harvesting in photosystem II journal April 2013
Identification and characterization of multiple emissive species in aggregated minor antenna complexes journal December 2016
The nature of the air-cleaved mica surface journal June 2016
Comparison of the physical characteristics of chlorosomes from three different phyla of green phototrophic bacteria journal October 2013
Three-Phase Coexistence in Lipid Membranes journal January 2017
Aggregation of Light-Harvesting Complex II leads to formation of efficient excitation energy traps in monomeric and trimeric complexes journal July 2007
Identification of a mechanism of photoprotective energy dissipation in higher plants journal November 2007
Polymer-supported membranes as models of the cell surface journal September 2005
Light-harvesting processes in the dynamic photosynthetic antenna journal January 2013
Molecular basis of photoprotection and control of photosynthetic light-harvesting journal July 2005
The nature of self-regulation in photosynthetic light-harvesting antenna journal April 2016
An Oxygen Scavenging System for Improvement of Dye Stability in Single-Molecule Fluorescence Experiments journal March 2008
AFM studies of the supramolecular assembly of bacterial photosynthetic core-complexes journal October 2006
Carotenoids and photoprotection in plants: A role for the xanthophyll zeaxanthin journal October 1990
Solid supported lipid bilayers: From biophysical studies to sensor design journal November 2006
Exploiting lipopolysaccharide-induced deformation of lipid bilayers to modify membrane composition and generate two-dimensional geometric membrane array patterns journal May 2015
Singlet Energy Dissipation in the Photosystem II Light-Harvesting Complex Does Not Involve Energy Transfer to Carotenoids journal April 2010
Folding, Assembly, and Stability of the Major Light-Harvesting Complex of Higher Plants, LHCII, in the Presence of Native Lipids journal October 2000
Singlet–Singlet Annihilation Kinetics in Aggregates and Trimers of LHCII journal May 2001
Energy-Dependent Quenching of Chlorophyll a Fluorescence in Isolated Chloroplasts journal December 1970
An In Vivo Quantitative Comparison of Photoprotection in Arabidopsis Xanthophyll Mutants journal June 2016
3D-Membrane Stacks on Supported Membranes Composed of Diatom Lipids Induced by Long-Chain Polyamines journal September 2016
Simultaneous refolding of denatured PsbS and reconstitution with LHCII into liposomes of thylakoid lipids journal July 2015
The Functional Significance of the Monomeric and Trimeric States of the Photosystem II Light Harvesting Complexes journal December 2003
Dissipative pathways in the photosystem-II antenna in plants journal November 2015
Reversible Switching between Nonquenched and Quenched States in Nanoscale Linear Arrays of Plant Light-Harvesting Antenna Complexes journal July 2014
Nonphotochemical Chlorophyll Fluorescence Quenching: Mechanism and Effectiveness in Protecting Plants from Photodamage journal February 2016
Regulation of LHCII aggregation by different thylakoid membrane lipids journal March 2011