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PHOTOSYNTHESIS. A 12 Å carotenoid translocation in a photoswitch associated with cyanobacterial photoprotection
Ryan L Leverenz1, Markus Sutter2, Adjélé Wilson3
1MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
Abstract:
Pigment-protein and pigment-pigment interactions are of fundamental importance to the light-harvesting and photoprotective functions essential to oxygenic photosynthesis. The orange carotenoid protein (OCP) functions as both a sensor of light and effector of photoprotective energy dissipation in cyanobacteria. We report the atomic-resolution structure of an active form of the OCP consisting of the N-terminal domain and a single noncovalently bound carotenoid pigment. The crystal structure, combined with additional solution-state structural data, reveals that OCP photoactivation is accompanied by a 12 angstrom translocation of the pigment within the protein and a reconfiguration of carotenoid-protein interactions. Our results identify the origin of the photochromic changes in the OCP triggered by light and reveal the structural determinants required for interaction with the light-harvesting antenna during photoprotection.
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