Nucleotide sequence of the gene for the P680 chlorophyll alpha apoprotein of the photosystem II reaction center from spinach.

The DNA sequence of 2210 nucleotides including the gene for the "51 kd" chlorophyll alpha-conjugated thylakoid membrane protein associated with the photosystem II reaction center of spinach has been determined. This protein is functionally identical with the P680 chlorophyll alpha apoprotein that catalyses the primary light-induced photochemical processes of photosystem II (Camm, E.L. and Green, B.R. (1983) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 724 291-293). The only large open reading frame in the sequence consists of 508 triplets encoding a protein of molecular mass of 56,246 kd. The deduced amino acid sequence shows clustering of hydrophobic residues into seven core regions which probably traverse the membrane, and a large hydrophilic domain of about 200 amino acids interspersed between span VI and VII. Potential transcription promotor and terminator signals flanking the structural gene show prokaryotic-like features. Seven discrete RNA species ranging in size from 2.0 to over 5.0 kilobases display complementarity to apoprotein coding sequences implying that the region can be polycistronically transcribed. The primary transcript includes information for at least two further genes coding for subunits of the cytochrome b/f complex.