Life on Earth depends on photosynthesis, the conversion of light energy into chemical energy. Plants collect photons by light harvesting complexes (LHC)-abundant membrane proteins containing chlorophyll and xanthophyll molecules. LHC-like proteins are similar in their amino acid sequence to true LHC antennae, however, they rather serve a photoprotective function. Whether the LHC-like proteins bind pigments has remained unclear. Here, we characterize plant LHC-like proteins (LIL3 and ELIP2) produced in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 (hereafter Synechocystis). Both proteins were associated with chlorophyll a (Chl) and zeaxanthin and LIL3 was shown to be capable of quenching Chl fluorescence via direct energy transfer from the Chl Qy state to zeaxanthin S1 state. Interestingly, the ability of the ELIP2 protein to quench can be acquired by modifying its N-terminal sequence. By employing Synechocystis carotenoid mutants and site-directed mutagenesis we demonstrate that, although LIL3 does not need pigments for folding, pigments stabilize the LIL3 dimer.
- MeSH
- chlorofyl metabolismus MeSH
- karotenoidy metabolismus MeSH
- multimerizace proteinu MeSH
- mutace MeSH
- přenos energie MeSH
- proteiny chloroplastové chemie genetika metabolismus MeSH
- proteiny huseníčku chemie genetika metabolismus MeSH
- sbalování proteinů MeSH
- Synechocystis genetika metabolismus MeSH
- vazba proteinů MeSH
- xanthofyly metabolismus MeSH
- zeaxanthiny genetika metabolismus MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
Here, we propose a possible photoactivation mechanism of a 35-kDa blue light-triggered photoreceptor, the Orange Carotenoid Protein (OCP), suggesting that the reaction involves the transient formation of a protonated ketocarotenoid (oxocarbenium cation) state. Taking advantage of engineering an OCP variant carrying the Y201W mutation, which shows superior spectroscopic and structural properties, it is shown that the presence of Trp201 augments the impact of one critical H-bond between the ketocarotenoid and the protein. This confers an unprecedented homogeneity of the dark-adapted OCP state and substantially increases the yield of the excited photoproduct S*, which is important for the productive photocycle to proceed. A 1.37 Å crystal structure of OCP Y201W combined with femtosecond time-resolved absorption spectroscopy, kinetic analysis, and deconvolution of the spectral intermediates, as well as extensive quantum chemical calculations incorporating the effect of the local electric field, highlighted the role of charge-transfer states during OCP photoconversion.
V rámci kurikulární reformy byly zavedeny nové vzdělávací obory, avšak od počátku reformy uplynulo již 15 let a stále chybí zpětná vazba, která by zhodnotila úroveň osvojeného kurikula vzdělávacího oboru Výchova ke zdraví a s tím spojenou efektivitu výuky na základních školách. S cílem sběru dat z terénu, byl vytvořen nástroj hodnotící úroveň osvojeného kurikula vzdělávacího oboru Výchova ke zdraví. Článek pojednává o zajištění základních vlastností tohoto nástroje. Nástroj byl testován na 37 absolventech základních škol. Hlavním výstupem jsou data o vnitřní konzistenci, validitě a objektivitě didaktického testu. Pro výpočet vnitřní konzistence jsme použili koeficient Cronbachovo alfa. Pro zajištění validity jsme použili Raschův model pro dichotomické položky a položkovou analýzu. Položková analýza hodnotila obtížnost a citlivost jednotlivých testových položek.
As a part of the curriculum reform, new educational programmes were introduced. However, it has been fifteen years since the beginning of the reform and there is still lacking a feedback that would assess the level of the acquired curriculum of the Education for Health programme. The article thus concerns basic properties of such a tool. The tool was tested on 37 primary school graduates. The main output will consist in data on internal consistency, validity and objectivity of a didactic test. To calculate the internal consistency the Cronbach alpha coefficient was used. To ensure validity Rasch's model for dichotomic items and item analysis was used. In the analysis, difficulty and sensitivity levels of individual test items were ascertained.
- Klíčová slova
- education for health, didactic test, properties of test items, validity, reliability, výchova ke zdraví, didaktické testy, vlastnosti testových položek, validita, reliabilita,
- MeSH
- kurikulum MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- tělesná výchova MeSH
- vyučování MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
Studie interpretuje výsledky výzkumu realizovaného v rámci rozšíření povědomí o problematice školní Tělesné výchovy pomocí Antalova výzkumného nástroje. Cílem studie je odkrytí proměnných ovlivňujících vztah žáků k pohybovým aktivitám, v této studii se jedná konkrétně o názory žáků základních škol, gymnázií a středních škol na realizované kurikulum ve vzdělávacím oboru Tělesná výchova. Ve studii zároveň zjišťujeme preference pohybových aktivit u zkoumaného souboru. Jedná se o jednu z proměnných významně ovlivňujících tvorbu pozitivního vztahu jedince k pohybovým aktivitám a zároveň také ke zdravému životnímu stylu. Zpracování výsledků souboru o velikosti 480 respondentů, přineslo zajímavé výsledky. Pro výpočet statistické významnosti jsme použili Chí kvadrát test a věcnou významnost jsme posuzovali pomocí koeficientu determinace. Většina žáků je spokojena s realizovaným kurikulem. 55% souboru je spokojeno s kvalitou hodin TV. Nejčastějším důvodem nízkého zájmu je neatraktivní obsah. Nejčastější důvod absence je nemoc či zranění.
The study describes the results of research carried out in the framework of raising awareness of school Physical Education. The aim of the study is to monitor variables affecting the relationship of adolescents to exercise activities. This study discusses the views of primary and secondary school pupils on the curriculum in the education field of Physical Education, and also detects popular physical activities.This is one of the variables that significantly influence the formation of a positive relationship to exercise activities as well as to a healthy lifestyle. Processing the results of a 480 response population produced interesting results. To calculate statistical significance, we used the Chi square test and assessed material significance using a coefficient of determination. Most students are satisfied with the implemented curriculum, 55 % of the sample is satisfied with the quality of the P.E. lessons. The most common reason for low interest is unattractive content. The most common reason for absence is illness or injury.
- Klíčová slova
- realizované kurikulum, pohybová aktivita, moderní prvky v hodinách TV, kvalita hodin TV, neatraktivní obsah,
- MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mladiství MeSH
- tělesná výchova statistika a číselné údaje MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- mladiství MeSH
The orange carotenoid protein (OCP) is a structurally and functionally modular photoactive protein involved in cyanobacterial photoprotection. Recently, based on bioinformatic analysis and phylogenetic relationships, new families of OCP have been described, OCP2 and OCPx. The first characterization of the OCP2 showed both faster photoconversion and back-conversion, and lower fluorescence quenching of phycobilisomes relative to the well-characterized OCP1. Moreover, OCP2 is not regulated by the fluorescence recovery protein (FRP). In this work, we present a comprehensive study combining ultrafast spectroscopy and structural analysis to compare the photoactivation mechanisms of OCP1 and OCP2 from Tolypothrix PCC 7601. We show that despite significant differences in their functional characteristics, the spectroscopic properties of OCP1 and OCP2 are comparable. This indicates that the OCP functionality is not directly related to the spectroscopic properties of the bound carotenoid. In addition, the structural analysis by X-ray footprinting reveals that, overall, OCP1 and OCP2 have grossly the same photoactivation mechanism. However, the OCP2 is less reactive to radiolytic labeling, suggesting that the protein is less flexible than OCP1. This observation could explain fast photoconversion of OCP2.
The Orange Carotenoid Protein (OCP) is a water-soluble protein that governs photoprotection in many cyanobacteria. The 35 kDa OCP is structurally and functionally modular, consisting of an N-terminal effector domain (NTD) and a C-terminal regulatory domain (CTD); a carotenoid spans the two domains. The CTD is a member of the ubiquitous Nuclear Transport Factor-2 (NTF2) superfamily (pfam02136). With the increasing availability of cyanobacterial genomes, bioinformatic analysis has revealed the existence of a new family of proteins, homologs to the CTD, the C-terminal domain-like carotenoid proteins (CCPs). Here we purify holo-CCP2 directly from cyanobacteria and establish that it natively binds canthaxanthin (CAN). We use small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) to characterize the structure of this carotenoprotein in two distinct oligomeric states. A single carotenoid molecule spans the two CCPs in the dimer. Our analysis with X-ray footprinting-mass spectrometry (XFMS) identifies critical residues for carotenoid binding that likely contribute to the extreme red shift (ca. 80 nm) of the absorption maximum of the carotenoid bound by the CCP2 dimer and a further 10 nm shift in the tetramer form. These data provide the first structural description of carotenoid binding by a protein consisting of only an NTF2 domain.
- MeSH
- bakteriální proteiny chemie ultrastruktura MeSH
- kanthaxanthin chemie MeSH
- krystalografie rentgenová MeSH
- maloúhlový rozptyl MeSH
- nukleocytoplazmatické transportní proteiny chemie genetika ultrastruktura MeSH
- proteinové domény genetika MeSH
- sinice chemie ultrastruktura MeSH
- vazba proteinů účinky léků MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH
- Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. MeSH
Xanthophylls in light harvesting complexes perform a number of functions ranging from structural support to light-harvesting and photoprotection. In the major light harvesting complex of photosystem II in plants (LHCII), the innermost xanthophyll binding pockets are occupied by lutein molecules. The conservation of these sites within the LHC protein family suggests their importance in LHCII functionality. In the present work, we induced the photoprotective switch in LHCII isolated from the Arabidopsis mutant npq1lut2, where the lutein molecules are exchanged with violaxanthin. Despite the differences in the energetics of the pigments and the impairment of chlorophyll fluorescence quenching in vivo, we show that isolated complexes containing violaxanthin are still able to induce the quenching switch to a similar extent to wild type LHCII monomers. Moreover, the same spectroscopic changes take place, which suggest the involvement of the terminal emitter site (L1) in energy dissipation in both complexes. These results indicate the robust nature of the L1 xanthophyll binding domain in LHCII, where protein structural cues are the major determinant of the function of the bound carotenoid.
Photosynthetic organisms had to evolve diverse mechanisms of light-harvesting to supply photosynthetic apparatus with enough energy. Cryptophytes represent one of the groups of photosynthetic organisms combining external and internal antenna systems. They contain one type of immobile phycobiliprotein located at the lumenal side of the thylakoid membrane, together with membrane-bound chlorophyll a/c antenna (CAC). Here we employ femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy to study energy transfer pathways in the CAC proteins of cryptophyte Rhodomonas salina. The major CAC carotenoid, alloxanthin, is a cryptophyte-specific carotenoid, and it is the only naturally-occurring carotenoid with two triple bonds in its structure. In order to explore the energy transfer pathways within the CAC complex, three excitation wavelengths (505, 590, and 640 nm) were chosen to excite pigments in the CAC antenna. The excitation of Chl c at either 590 or 640 nm proves efficient energy transfer between Chl c and Chl a. The excitation of alloxanthin at 505 nm shows an active pathway from the S2 state with efficiency around 50%, feeding both Chl a and Chl c with approximately 1:1 branching ratio, yet, the S1-route is rather inefficient. The 57 ps energy transfer time to Chl a gives ~25% efficiency of the S1 channel. The low efficiency of the S1 route renders the overall carotenoid-Chl energy transfer efficiency low, pointing to the regulatory role of alloxanthin in the CAC antenna.
The keto-carotenoid deinoxanthin, which occurs in the UV-resistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans, has been investigated by ultrafast time-resolved spectroscopy techniques. We have explored the excited-state properties of deinoxanthin in solution and bound to the S-layer Deinoxanthin Binding Complex (SDBC), a protein complex important for UV resistance and thermostability of the organism. Binding of deinoxanthin to SDBC shifts the absorption spectrum to longer wavelengths, but excited-state dynamics remain unaffected. The lifetime of the lowest excited state (S1) of isolated deinoxanthin in methanol is 2.1 ps. When bound to SDBC, the S1 lifetime is 2.4 ps, indicating essentially no alteration of the effective conjugation length upon binding. Moreover, our data show that the conformational disorder in both ground and excited states is the same for deinoxanthin in methanol and bound to SDBC. Our results thus suggest a rather loosely bound carotenoid in SDBC, making it very distinct from other carotenoid-binding proteins such as Orange Carotenoid Protein (OCP) or crustacyanin, both of which significantly restrain the carotenoid at the binding site. Three deinoxanthin analogs were found to bind the SDBC, suggesting a non-selective binding site of deinoxanthin in SDBC.
Photosynthetic eukaryotes whose cells harbor plastids originating from secondary endosymbiosis of a red alga include species of major ecological and economic importance. Since utilization of solar energy relies on the efficient light-harvesting, one of the critical factors for the success of the red lineage in a range of environments is to be found in the adaptability of the light-harvesting machinery, formed by the proteins of the light-harvesting complex (LHC) family. A number of species are known to employ mainly a unique class of LHC containing red-shifted chlorophyll a (Chl a) forms absorbing above 690 nm. This appears to be an adaptation to shaded habitats. Here we present a detailed investigation of excitation energy flow in the red-shifted light-harvesting antenna of eustigmatophyte Trachydiscus minutus using time-resolved fluorescence and ultrafast transient absorption measurements. The main carotenoid in the complex is violaxanthin, hence this LHC is labeled the red-violaxanthin-Chl a protein, rVCP. Both the carotenoid-to-Chl a energy transfer and excitation dynamics within the Chl a manifold were studied and compared to the related antenna complex, VCP, that lacks the red-Chl a. Two spectrally defined carotenoid pools were identified in the red antenna, contributing to energy transfer to Chl a, mostly via S2 and hot S1 states. Also, Chl a triplet quenching by carotenoids is documented. Two separate pools of red-shifted Chl a were resolved, one is likely formed by excitonically coupled Chl a molecules. The structural implications of these observations are discussed.
- MeSH
- chlorofyl a * MeSH
- Chlorophyta fyziologie MeSH
- fluorescenční spektrometrie metody MeSH
- Heterokontophyta fyziologie MeSH
- plastidy MeSH
- přenos energie fyziologie MeSH
- Rhodophyta fyziologie MeSH
- světlosběrné proteinové komplexy chemie MeSH
- xanthofyly MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
