PsbS-dependent and -independent mechanisms regulate carotenoid-chlorophyll energy coupling in grana thylakoids

In higher plants, PsbS is known to play a key role in the regulation of photosynthetic light harvesting. However, the molecular mechanism and role of electronic carotenoid-chlorophyll (Chl) interactions for the downregulation of excess excitation (nonphotochemical energy quenching, NPQ) are still poorly understood. Here, we explored carotenoid → Chl energy transfer in isolated grana thylakoid membranes from mutants either deficient in or overexpressing PsbS. Since it was suggested that PsbS regulates the supramolecular protein network to control NPQ, we varied this network by diluting the grana protein densities. Our results indicate that different electronic quenching mechanisms are operative in grana thylakoids: a PsbS-dependent mechanism and a membrane protein density-dependent mechanism that is also operative in the absence of PsbS.