The effect of electron donors and acceptors on light-induced absorbance changes and photophosphorylation in Rhodospirillum rubrum chromatophores

Abstract

Light-induced difference spectra between 400 and 640 nm of Rhodospirillum rubrum chromatophores were performed in the presence and absence of exogenous electron donor/acceptor systems and compared with the chemical oxidation spectrum. The results indicate that the component previously defined as P430 is not a unique entity but rather represents different species, or a mixture of species, under various conditions. Under all conditions in which the reaction center bacteriochlorophyll is reversibly photooxidized, as indicated by the bleaching around 600 nm, it is also contributing to the absorbance increase around 430 nm. In one case, in presence of reduced dichloroindophenol and in the absence of oxygen, the photooxidation of reaction center bacteriochlorophyll is fully supressed. Under these conditions an irreversible change around 430 nm is still observed and seems to be due to the Soret band of b-type cytochrome. In the presence of reduced dichloroindophenol and absence of oxygen there is a marked inhibition of photophosphorylation. This inhibition is apparently due to the complete reduction of the cyclic electron carriers. Addition of the low potential dye benzyl viologen facilitates an almost complete recovery of the reversible photooxidation of reaction center bacteriochlorophyll as well as of photophosphorylation. These results indicate that the apparent mid-point potential of the primary electron acceptor in Rhodospirillum rubrum chromatophores is probably in the range of that of benzyl viologen (E'o = - 340 mV).