Abstract
The pigment composition of the light-harvesting complexes of Photosystem II (LHC II) has been determined for lettuce (Lactuca sativa). In common with other members of the composite, the photosynthetic tissues of this species may contain large amounts of the carotenoid lactucaxanthin (ε, ε-carotene-3,3'-diol) in addition to their normal compliment of carotenoids. The occurrence and distribution of lactucaxanthin in LHC II has been examined using isoelectric focusing of BBY particles followed by reversed-phase HPLC analysis of the pigments. The major carotenoids detected in LHC IIb, LHC IIa (CP29) and LHC IIc (CP26) purified from dark-adapted lettuce were lutein, violaxanthin, neoxanthin and lactucaxanthin. Lactucaxanthin has been shown to be a major component of PS II, accounting for ∼26% of total xanthophyll in both LHC IIb (∼23% total xanthophyll) and in the minor complexes (12–16%). In this study, LHC IIb was clearly resolved into four bands and their carotenoid composition determined. These four bands proved to be very similar in their pigment content and composition, although the relative amounts of neoxanthin and lutein in particular were found to increase from bands 1 to 4 (i.e. with increasing electrophoretic mobility). The operation of the xanthophyll cycle has also been examined in the LHC of L. sativa following light treatment. The conversion efficiency for violaxanthin→zeaxanthin was nearly identical for each light-harvesting complex examined at 58–61%. Nearly half of the zeaxanthin formed in PS II was associated with LHC IIb, although the molar ratio of zeaxanthin:chlorophyll a was highest in the minor LHC.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- HPLC:
-
high performance liquid chromatography
- IEF:
-
isoelectric focusing
- LHCII:
-
light-harvesting complex associated with Photosystem II
- PS II:
-
Photosystem II
- qE:
-
ΔpH-dependent nonphotochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence
References
Bassi R and Dainese P (1992) A supramolecular light-harvesting complex from chloroplast Photosystem II membranes. Eur J Biochem 204: 317–326
Bassi R, Pineau B, Dainese P and Marquardt J (1993) Carotenoidbinding proteins of Photosystem II. Eur J Biochem 212: 297–303
Bassi R, Silvestri M, Dainese P, Moya I and Giacometti GM (1991) Effects of non-ionic detergent on the spectral properties and aggregation state of the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein complex (LHC II). J Photochem Photobiol B Biol 9: 335–354
Burke JJ, Ditto CL and Arntzen CJ (1978) Involvement of the light-harvesting complex in cation regulation of excitation energy distribution in chloroplasts. Arch Biochem Biophys 187: 252–263
Crofts J and Horton P (1991) Dissipation of excitation energy by Photosystem II particles at low pH. Biochim Biophys Acta 1058: 187–193
Davies BH (1976) Carotenoids. In: Goodwin TW (ed) Chemistry and Biochemistry of Plant Pigments, 2nd ed, Vol 2, pp 38–165. Academic Press, London
Demmig-Adams B (1990) Carotenoids and photoprotection: A role for the xanthophyll zeaxanthin. Biochim Biophys Acta 1020: 1–24
Demmig-Adams B and Adams WW (1992) Photoprotection and other responses of plants to high light stress. Annu Rev Plant Physiol Plant Mol Biol 43: 599–626
Demmig-Adams B and Adams WW (1993) The xanthophyll cycle. In: Young AJ and Britton G (eds) Carotenoids in Photosynthesis, pp 206–252. Chapman and Hall, London
Frank HA, Cua A, Chynwat V, Young AJ, Gosztola D and Wasielewski MR (1994) Photophysics of the carotenoids associated with the xanthophyll cycle in photosynthesis. Photosynth Research, 41: 389–395
Goodwin TW (1980) The Biochemistry of Carotenoids, Vol 1, Plants. Chapman and Hall, London
Gruszecki WI and Krupa Z (1993) LHC II preparation exhibits properties of a zeaxanthin expoxidase. J Photochem Photobiol B Biol 17: 291–292
Henrysson T, Schröder WP, Spangfort M and Åkerlund H-E (1989) Isolation and characterisation of the chlorophyll a-b protein complex CP29 from spinach. Biochim Biophys Acta 977: 301–308
Horton P, Ruban AV, Rees D, Pascal A, Noctor G and Young AJ (1991) Control of the light-harvesting function of chloroplast membranes by aggregation of the LHC II chlorophyll-protein complex. FEBS Lett 292: 1–4
Jansson S (1994) The light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-binding proteins. Biochim Biophys Acta 1184: 1–19
Johnson GN, Young AJ, Scholes JD and Horton P (1993) The dissipation of excess excitation energy in British plant species. Plant Cell Environ 16: 681–686
Kühlbrandt W, Wang DN and Fujiyoshi Y (1994) Atomic model of plant light-harvesting complex. Nature 367: 614–621
Noctor G, Rees D, Young A and Horton P (1991) The relationship between zeaxanthin, energy-dependent quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence and the transthyalkoid pH-gradient in isolated chloroplasts. Biochim Biophys Acta 1057: 320–330
Owens TG, Shreve AP and Albrecht AC (1992) Dynamics and mechanism of singlet energy transfer between carotenoids and chlorophylls: Light-harvesting and non-photochemical quenching. In: Murata N (ed) Research in Photosynthesis, Vol 4, pp 179–186. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht
Peter GF and Thornber JP (1991) Biochemical composition and organization of higher plant Photosystem II light-harvesting pigment proteins. J Biol Chem 266: 16745–16754
Ruban AV and Horton P (1992) Mechanism of ΔpH-dependent dissipation of absorbed excitation energy of photosynthetic membranes. I. Spectroscopic analysis of isolated light-harvesting complexes. Biochim Biophys Acta 1102: 30–38
Ruban AV, Young AJ and Horton P (1993) Induction of nonphotochemical energy dissipation and absorbance changes in leaves. Evidence for changes in the state of the light-harvesting system of Photosystem II in vivo. Plant Physiol 102: 741–750
Ruban AV, Young AJ, Pascal AA and Horton P (1994a) The effects of illumination on the xanthophyll composition of the Photosystem II light-harvesting complexes of spinach thylakoid membranes. Plant Physiol 104: 227–234
Ruban AV, Young AJ and Horton P (1994b) Modulation of chlorophyll fluorescence quenching in isolated light-harvesting complex of Photosystem II. Biochim Biophys Acta 1186: 123–127
Siefermann-Harms D (1987) The light-harvesting and protective functions of carotenoids in photosynthetic membranes. Physiol Plantarum 69: 561–568
Siefermann-Harms D and Ninnemann H (1982) Pigment organization in the light-harvesting chlorophyll-a/b-protein complex of lettuce chloroplasts. Evidence obtained from protection against proton attack and from energy transfer. Photochem Photobiol 35: 719–731
Siefermann-Harms D, Hertzberg S, Borch G and Liaaen-Jensen S (1981) Lactucaxanthin, an ε, ε-carotene-3,3'-diol from Lactucasativa. Phytochemistry 20: 85–88
Thayer SS and Björkman O (1990) Leaf xanthophyll content and composition in sun and shade determined by HPLC. Photosynth Res 33: 213–226
Thayer SS and Björkman O (1992) Carotenoid distribution and deepoxidation in thylakoid pigment protein complexes from cotton leaves and bundle sheath cells of maize. Photosynth Res 33: 213–226
Thornber JP, Peter GF, Morishige DT, Gomez S, Anandan S, Welty BA, Lee A, Kerfeld C, Takeuchi T and Preiss S (1993) Light-harvesting systems I and II. Biochem Soc Trans 21: 15–18
Young AJ (1993) Occurrence and distribution of carotenoids in photosynthetic systems. In: Young AJ and Britton G (eds) Carotenoids in Photosynthesis, pp 16–71. Chapman and Hall, London
Young AJ and Britton G (1989) The distribution of α-carotene in the photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes of higher plants. Plant Sci 64: 179–183
Young AJ and Britton G (eds) (1993) Carotenoids in Photosynthesis. Chapman and Hall, London
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Phillip, D., Young, A.J. Occurrence of the carotenoid lactucaxanthin in higher plant LHC II. Photosynth Res 43, 273–282 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00029940
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00029940