Abstract
Higher plant photosystem II preparations contain a 4.1 kDa polypeptide (subunit X) associated with the oxygen-evolving core complex. We describe the isolation of a cDNA encoding PS II-X from Arabidopsis thaliana, in which the C-terminal region is highly homologous to partially sequenced PS II-X from wheat and spinach. The mature protein of 42 residues is preceded by a 74-residue, bipartite presequence similar to those involved in the targeting of nuclear-encoded thylakoid lumen proteins, although hydrophobicity analysis indicates the presence of a single transmembrane span in the mature protein. Moreover, import of pre-PS II-X into the thylakoid membrane of isolated chloroplasts is unaffected by inhibitors of either the Sec- or ΔpH-dependent thylakoidal protein translocases, suggesting a spontaneous insertion mechanism. PS II-X appears to be encoded as a mature protein by the plastid genome in the chlorophyll a+c-containing alga, Odontella sinensis. We thus propose that the thylakoid transfer signal of Arabidopsis pre-PS II-X represents a recent acquisition, in phylogenetic terms, compared with signals of Sec-dependent lumenal proteins.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 175-178 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | FEBS Letters |
Volume | 390 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 22 1996 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Chloroplast
- Photosynthesis
- Photosystem II
- Protein translocation
- Thylakoid
- psbX
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biophysics
- Structural Biology
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
- Cell Biology