Spatial segregation of photosystems in the thylakoid membrane (lateral heterogeneity) observed in plants and in the green algae is usually considered to be absent in photoautotrophs possessing secondary plastids, such as diatoms. Contrary to this assumption, here we show that thylakoid membranes in the chloroplast of a marine diatom, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, contain large areas occupied exclusively by a supercomplex of photosystem I (PSI) and its associated Lhcr antenna. These membrane areas, hundreds of nanometers in size, comprise hundreds of tightly packed PSI-antenna complexes while lacking other components of the photosynthetic electron transport chain. Analyses of the spatial distribution of the PSI-Lhcr complexes have indicated elliptical particles, each 14 × 17 nm in diameter. On larger scales, the red-enhanced illumination exerts a significant effect on the ultrastructure of chloroplasts, creating superstacks of tens of thylakoid membranes.

Faculty of Science University of South Bohemia Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry Branišovská 1760 České Budějovice 37005 Czech Republic

Institute of Plant Molecular Biology Biology Centre CAS Department of Photosynthesis Branišovská 31 České Budějovice 37005 Czech Republic

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