Three-dimensional Model and Characterization of the Iron Stress-induced CP43'-photosystem I Supercomplex Isolated from the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803

The cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803 has been subjected to growth under iron-deficient conditions. As a consequence, the isiA gene is expressed, and its product, the chlorophyll a-binding protein CP43', accumulates in the cell. Recently, we have shown for the first time that 18 copies of this photosystem II (PSII)-like chlorophyll a-binding protein forms a ring around the trimeric photosystem I (PSI) reaction center (Bibby, T. S., Nield, J., and Barber, J. (2001) Nature, 412, 743-745). Here we further characterize the biochemical and structural properties of this novel CP43'-PSI supercomplex confirming that it is a functional unit of approximately 1900 kDa where the antenna size of PSI is increased by 70% or more. Using electron microscopy and single particle analysis, we have constructed a preliminary three-dimensional model of the CP43'-PSI supercomplex and used it as a framework to incorporate higher resolution structures of PSI and CP43 recently derived from x-ray crystallography. Not only does this work emphasize the flexibility of cyanobacterial light-harvesting systems in response to the lowering of phycobilisome and PSI levels under iron-deficient conditions, but it also has implications for understanding the organization of the related chlorophyll a/b-binding Pcb proteins of oxychlorobacteria, formerly known as prochlorophytes.