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Updated: Aug 25, 2026

Isolation of Physiologically Active Thylakoids and Their Use in Energy-Dependent Protein Transport Assays
Published on: September 28, 2018
[Mathematical modeling of electron and protein transport, coupled with ATP synthesis in chloroplasts]
A V Vershubskiĭ1, V I Priklonskiĭ, A N Tikhonov
1Physical Department, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Vorob'evy Gory, Moscow, 119992 Russia.
Abstract:
A mathematical model of electron and proton transport in chloroplasts of higher plants was developed, which takes into account the lateral heterogeneity of the lamellar system. Based on the results of numerical experiments, lateral profiles of pH in the thylakoid lumen and in the narrow gap between grana thylakoids under different metabolic conditions (in the state of photosynthetic control and under photophosphorylation conditions) were simulated. Lateral profiles of pH in the thylakoid lumen and in the intrathylakoid gap were simulated for different values of the proton diffusion coefficient and stroma pH. The model demonstrated that there might be two mechanisms of regulation of electron and proton transport in chloroplasts: (1) the slowing down of noncyclic electron transport due to a decrease in the intrathylakoid pH, and (2) the retardation of plastoquinone reduction due to slow diffusion of protons inside the narrow gap between the thylakoids of grana.
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