Oxygen dependence of photosynthetic electron transport in a bacteriochlorophyll-containing rhizobium

Bacteriochlorophyll-containing rhizobia, which form nitrogen-fixing nodules on the stems and roots of the legume Aeschynomene, grow photosynthetically only in the presence of oxygen or auxiliary electron acceptors. We show that, in whole cells of the Rhizobium strain BTAi 1, a single-turnover excitation flash photooxidized c-type cytochrome under aerobic but not anaerobic conditions. Light-induced fluorescence yield changes show that under anaerobic conditions, the primary acceptor quinone, Q(A), is predominantly in the reduced state and so unable to accept electrons. Thus, as is the case for the aerobic photosynthetic bacterium Roseobacter denitrificans, over-reduction of Q(A) likely prohibits photosynthesis under anaerobic conditions.