Targeted deletion mutagenesis of the beta subunit of cytochrome b559 protein destabilizes the reaction center of photosystem II.

Oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis techniques were used to delete the psbF gene, encoding the beta subunit of the cytochrome b559 protein of the photosystem II complex in the cyanobacterium, Synechocystis 6803. Cyt b559 is an integral component of PS II complex. However, its precise functional role in PS II remains to be determined. Previously, we created a mutant in which the psbF gene as well as three of its neighbouring genes, psbE, psbL and psbJ were simultaneously deleted from the chromosome of Synechocystis 6803 (Pakrasi, Williams and Arntzen, EMBO J. 7, 325-332, 1988). This mutant had no PS II activity. However, the role of any one of the four individual gene products could not be determined by studying this mutant. The newly generated mutant, T256, had only one gene, psbF, deleted from the genome. This mutant was also impaired in its PS II activities. In addition, it had barely detectable levels of two other protein components, D1 (herbicide binding protein) and D2, of the reaction center of PS II, in its thylakoid membranes. In contrast, two other proteins of PS II, CP47 and CP43 were present in appreciable amounts. Fluorescence spectra (77 K) of the mutant showed the absence of a peak at 695 nm that was previously believed to originate from CP47. In addition, phycobilisomes, the light-harvesting antenna system of PS II, were found to be assembled normally in this mutant. We conclude that the presence of the beta subunit of Cyt b559 in the thylakoid membranes is critically important for the assembly of PS II reaction center.