Comparison of the D1/D2/cytochrome b559 reaction centre complex of photosystem two isolated by two different methods

Photosystem 2 reaction centre complexes prepared either by solubilisation with Triton X-100 and subsequent exchange into dodecyl maltoside or by a procedure involving a combination of dodecyl maltoside and LiClO4, were characterised in terms of chlorophyll a, pheophytin a, beta-carotene and cytochrome b559 content. Time-resolved chlorophyll fluorescence decay kinetics were measured using both types of complexes. Our data show that the isolated photosystem two reaction centre complex contain, for two pheophytin a molecules, close to six chlorophyll a, two beta-carotene and one cytochrome b559. No major differences were observed in the composition or the kinetic characteristics measured in the samples prepared by the different procedures. Time-resolved fluorescence measurements indicate that more than 94% of the chlorophyll a in both preparations is coupled to the reaction centre complex.