Two-dimensional electron transfer from cytochrome C to photosynthetic reaction centers

The arrangement and the electron transfer are studied for photosynthetic reaction centers (RC) of Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides reconstituted into phospholipid vesicles. Freeze-etch electron micrographs of phase separated mixed vesicles reveal an RC enrichment in the phase containing the acidic lipid serine. It is demonstrated that the electron transfer from cytochrome c to RC involves a two-dimensional diffusion of the membrane bound electron donor with diffusion coefficients (D approximately 10(-9) cm2/sec) characteristic for membrane proteins.