Mutational analysis of photosystem I polypeptides in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Targeted inactivation of psaI reveals the function of psaI in the structural organization of psaL.

We cloned, characterized, and inactivated the psaI gene encoding a 4-kDa hydrophobic subunit of photosystem I from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. The psaI gene is located 90 base pairs downstream from psaL, and is transcribed on 0.94- and 0.32-kilobase transcripts. To identify the function of PsaI, we generated a cyanobacterial strain in which psaI has been interrupted by a gene for chloramphenicol resistance. The wild-type and the mutant cells showed comparable rates of photoautotrophic growth at 25 degrees C. However, the mutant cells grew slower and contained less chlorophyll than the wild-type cells, when grown at 40 degrees C. The PsaI-less membranes from cells grown at either temperature showed a small decrease in NADP+ photoreduction rate when compared to the wild-type membranes. Inactivation of psaI led to an 80% decrease in the PsaL level in the photosynthetic membranes and to a complete loss of PsaL in the purified photosystem I preparations, but had little effect on the accumulation of other photosystem I subunits. Upon solubilization with nonionic detergents, photosystem I trimers could be obtained from the wild-type, but not from the PsaI-less membranes. The PsaI-less photosystem I monomers did not contain detectable levels of PsaL. Therefore, a structural interaction between PsaL and PsaI may stabilize the association of PsaL with the photosystem I core. PsaL in the wild-type and PsaI-less membranes showed equal resistance to removal by chaotropic agents. However, PsaL in the PsaI-less strain exhibited an increased susceptibility to proteolysis. From these data, we conclude that PsaI has a crucial role in aiding normal structural organization of PsaL within the photosystem I complex and the absence of PsaI alters PsaL organization, leading to a small, but physiologically significant, defect in photosystem I function.