RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Structure of a symmetric photosynthetic reaction center–photosystem
JF Science
JO Science
FD American Association for the Advancement of Science
SP eaan5611
DO 10.1126/science.aan5611
A1 Gisriel, Christopher
A1 Sarrou, Iosifina
A1 Ferlez, Bryan
A1 Golbeck, John H.
A1 Redding, Kevin E.
A1 Fromme, Raimund
YR 2017
UL http://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2017/07/26/science.aan5611.abstract
AB Reaction centers are pigment-protein complexes that drive photosynthesis by converting light into chemical energy. It is believed that they arose once from a homodimeric protein. The symmetry of a homodimer is broken in heterodimeric reaction center structures, such as those reported previously. The 2.2-Å resolution X-ray structure of the homodimeric reaction center/photosystem from the phototroph, Heliobacterium modesticaldum, exhibits perfect C2 symmetry. The core polypeptide dimer and two small subunits coordinate 54 (bacterio)chlorophylls and 2 carotenoids that capture and transfer energy to the electron transfer chain at the center, which performs charge separation and consists of 6 (bacterio)chlorophylls and an iron-sulfur cluster; unlike other reaction centers, it lacks a bound quinone. This structure preserves characteristics of the ancestral reaction center, providing insight into evolution of photosynthesis.