Identities of four low-molecular-mass subunits of the photosystem I complex from Anabaena variabilis ATCC 29413. Evidence for the presence of the psaI gene product in a cyanobacterial complex.

Photosystem I (PSI) complex of Anabaena variabilis ATCC 29413 consists of at least 11 subunits, 9 of which are resolved by high resolution gel electrophoresis. N-terminal amino acid sequences of the four subunits with molecular masses of 6.8, 5.2, 4.8 and 3.5 kDa were determined. Based on the sequence homology, the 3.5 kDa subunit was revealed to correspond to PSI-I (the gene product of psaI), which had so far been detected only in higher plant PSI complexes. The 6.8 kDa protein and 4.8 kDa protein were identified as gene products of psaK and psaJ, respectively. The 5.2 kDa protein was homologous to a 4.8 kDa subunit of PSI of the thermophilic cyanobacterium Synechococcus vulcanus, suggesting that this protein is a component of PSI in cyanobacteria.