Evolutionary diversity of proton and water channels on the oxidizing side of photosystem II and their relevance to function

Journal Article · Fri Jun 02 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Photosynthesis Research

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-023-01018-w· OSTI ID:2228851

Hussein, Rana  ^[1]; Ibrahim, Mohamed  ^[1]; Bhowmick, Asmit  ^[2]; Simon, Philipp S.  ^[2]; Bogacz, Isabel  ^[2]; Doyle, Margaret D.  ^[2]; Dobbek, Holger  ^[1]; Zouni, Athina  ^[1]; Messinger, Johannes  ^[3]; Yachandra, Vittal K.  ^[2]; Kern, Jan F.  ^[2]; Yano, Junko  ^[2]

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1. Humboldt Univ. of Berlin (Germany)
2. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
3. Uppsala Univ. (Sweden); Umea Univ. (Sweden)

One of the reasons for the high efficiency and selectivity of biological catalysts arise from their ability to control the pathways of substrates and products using protein channels, and by modulating the transport in the channels using the interaction with the protein residues and the water/hydrogen-bonding network. Here, this process is clearly demonstrated in Photosystem II (PS II), where its light-driven water oxidation reaction catalyzed by the Mn₄CaO₅ cluster occurs deep inside the protein complex and thus requires the transport of two water molecules to and four protons from the metal center to the bulk water. Based on the recent advances in structural studies of PS II from X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy, in this review we compare the channels that have been proposed to facilitate this mass transport in cyanobacteria, red and green algae, diatoms, and higher plants. The three major channels (O1, O4, and Cl1 channels) are present in all species investigated; however, some differences exist in the reported structures that arise from the different composition and arrangement of membrane extrinsic subunits between the species. Among the three channels, the Cl1 channel, including the proton gate, is the most conserved among all photosynthetic species. We also found at least one branch for the O1 channel in all organisms, extending all the way from Ca/O1 via the ‘water wheel’ to the lumen. However, the extending path after the water wheel varies between most species. The O4 channel is, like the Cl1 channel, highly conserved among all species while having different orientations at the end of the path near the bulk. The comparison suggests that the previously proposed functionality of the channels in T. vestitus (Ibrahim et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 117:12624–12635, 2020; Hussein et al., Nat Commun 12:6531, 2021) is conserved through the species, i.e. the O1-like channel is used for substrate water intake, and the tighter Cl1 and O4 channels for proton release. The comparison does not eliminate the potential role of O4 channel as a water intake channel. However, the highly ordered hydrogen-bonded water wire connected to the Mn₄CaO₅ cluster via the O4 may strongly suggest that it functions in proton release, especially during the S₀ → S₁ transition (Saito et al., Nat Commun 6:8488, 2015; Kern et al., Nature 563:421–425, 2018; Ibrahim et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 117:12624–12635, 2020; Sakashita et al., Phys Chem Chem Phys 22:15831–15841, 2020; Hussein et al., Nat Commun 12:6531, 2021).

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences Division (CSGB)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-05CH11231; AC02-76SF00515
• OSTI ID: 2228851
• Journal Information: Photosynthesis Research, Vol. 158, Issue 2; ISSN 0166-8595
• Publisher: Springer
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
photosystem II
water oxidation
water transport
oxygen evolving complex
evolution