PNNL

Abstract

Photosystem II (PSII) is a large membrane protein complex that performs the water oxidation reactions of the photosynthetic electron transport chain in plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. Utilizing a high-throughput proteomic analysis of isolated PSII complexes from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, we have identified four PSII associated proteins that are encoded by the cofactor integration operon (cio). This operon contains genes with putative binding domains for chlorophyll, iron-sulfur centers, and bilins. Protein levels of this operon are more abundant in several PSII lumenal mutants, suggesting an accumulation of cio products in partially assembled PSII complexes. This provides a rare example of a bacterial operon whose protein products are translationally coordinated and associated with a single protein complex. Genetic deletion of cio results in decreased oxygen evolution by PSII, suggesting that cio products may function as regulators of PSII complex assembly or degradation, maybe facilitating an uncharacterized step in PSII assembly.