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Updated: Oct 10, 2025

Studying the Supramolecular Organization of Photosynthetic Membranes within Freeze-fractured Leaf Tissues by Cryo-scanning Electron Microscopy
Published on: June 23, 2016
Mass spectrometry analysis of the photosystem II assembly factor Psb27 revealed variations in its lipid modification
Jan Lambertz1, Pasqual Liauw1, Julian P Whitelegge2
1Plant Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Abstract:
The assembly of large, multi-cofactor membrane protein complexes like photosystem II (PSII) requires a high level of coordination. The process is facilitated by a large network of auxiliary proteins that bind transiently to unassembled subunits, preassembled modules or intermediate states of PSII, which are comprised of a subset of subunits. However, analysis of these immature, partially assembled PSII complexes is hampered by their low abundance and intrinsic instability. In this study, PSII was purified from the thermophilic cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus elongatus via Twin-Strep-tagged CP43 and further separated by ion exchange chromatography into mature and immature complexes. Mass spectrometry analysis of the immature Psb27-PSII intermediate revealed six different Psb27 proteoforms with distinct lipid modifications. The maturation and functional role of thylakoid localized lipoproteins are discussed.
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