Isolation of the intact photosystem I reaction center core containing P700 and iron-sulfur center FX

AbstractThe photosystem I reaction center core containing P700 and iron-sulfur center FX has been isolated from a Synechococcus photosystem I particle with 6.8 M urea at pH 10.0 followed by sucrose density ultracentrifugation. The reaction center core has retained > 90% of FX and 100% of P700 (determined by optical spectroscopy) but is totally devoid of iron-sulfur centers FA and FB (determined by optical and ESR spectroscopy). SDS-PAGE indicates the retention of the 57 kDa reaction center polypeptide(s) but the total absence of the 16.4 and 8.1 kDa polypeptides. The loss of FA and FB is further reflected in the decline of acid-labile sulfide from 11.8 ± 0.4 S2− /P700 in the control particle to 4.6 ± 0.3 S2− /P700 in the reaction center core. This preparation represents the first isolation of an intact reaction center core incorporating the components P700 and FX but totally lacking FA and FB