Membrane adhesion in photosynthetic bacterial membranes. Light harvesting complex I (LHI) appears to be the main adhesion factor.

We have reconstituted pigment-protein complexes isolated from Rhodopseudomonas palustris photosynthetic membranes into phospholipid liposomes. The various complexes were tested for their ability to promote adhesion of the liposome membrane in the presence and absence of Mg2+ ions. Samples containing a reaction center (RC)/light-harvesting I (LHI) complex appeared to stack in a manner resembling control thylakoids in 2 and 5 mM Mg2+. We also tested for the effects of Mg2+ on detergent extractability of pigment-protein complexes from intact membranes. Mg2+ sharply reduced the amount of LHI solubilized from membranes, while having little effect on the extractability of the light harvesting II complex (LHII) and the RC. Based on these results we suggest that LHI is the principal adhesion factor of R. palustris thylakoids.