Changes in Protein Composition and Mn Abundance in Photosystem II Particles on Photoactivation of the Latent O(2)-Evolving System in Flash-Grown Wheat Leaves.

Protein composition and Mn abundance were compared between the two photosystem II (PSII) particle preparations obtained before and after photoactivation of the latent O(2)-evolving system in intermittently flashed wheat leaves. The following results have been obtained: (a) nonphotoactivated PSII particles were devoid of two extrinsic proteins which corresponded to the 24 and 16 kilodalton proteins in spinach particles, although the particles contained all the intrinsic proteins and the 33 kilodalton extrinsic protein. (b) The two extrinsic proteins absent in nonphotoactivated PSII particles were present in nonphotoactivated thylakoids, but were easily removed by a hypotonic shock followed by brief sonication. Such removal of the proteins did not occur in photoactivated thylakoids. (c) Nonphotoactivated PSII particles contained 1.5 Mn/400 chlorophyll, while photoactivated particles contained 8 Mn/400 chlorophyll. (d) Nonphotoactivated thylakoids contained 6 Mn/400 chlorophyll, but most of them were removed from thylakoids by a hypotonic shock in the presence of ethylenediaminetetraacetate. Such removal of Mn did not occur in photoactivated thylakoids.