Funding Organization(s): Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, Czech Science Foundation, Other government, German Research Foundation (DFG), German Federal Ministry for Education and Research, European Regional Development Fund
Primary Citation of Related Structures:   9HD7
PubMed Abstract: 
Photosystem II (PSII) is essential for energy conversion during oxygenic photosynthesis in plants and algae. Chlorella ohadii, one of the fastest multiplying green algae, thrives under the harsh desert sun but lacks the standard PSII photoprotective mechanisms involving LhcSR/PsbS proteins or protein phosphorylation. Here, we present the cryo-EM structure of the PSII supercomplex from C. ohadii at 2.9 Å resolution, which is used to determine whether the exceptional resistance to desert conditions has a structural basis in PSII. The structure reveals a distinct PsbO isoform and additional subunits, PsbR and PsbY, which enhance core complex stability through extensive interactions. Furthermore, the trimeric light-harvesting complexes (LHCII) are bound to the PSII core by specific light-harvesting proteins whose down-regulation in response to high-light conditions implies a reduction in the number of bound LHCII trimers. These structural modifications, together with the high accumulation of specific polyamines in the thylakoid membrane, play a key role in maintaining PSII stability and photoprotection, allowing C. ohadii to survive in extreme conditions.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Šlechtitelů 27, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
Department of Integrative Structural Biochemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences 1 & Biocenter - Biosciences Martin-Luther University, Weinbergweg 22, Halle, Germany.
Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Palacký University Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 27, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 735/5, Brno, Czech Republic.
Interdisciplinary Research Center HALOmem, Charles Tanford Protein Center, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Kurt-Mothes-Straße 3a, Halle, Germany.
Czech Agrifood Research Center, Šlechtitelů 29, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacký University Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 27, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
Department of Physics and Astronomy and LaserLab Amsterdam, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan, HV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hallenic Research Foundation, Leof. Vasileos Konstantinou 48, Athina 116 35, Athens, Greece.
Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Šlechtitelů 27, Olomouc, Czech Republic. roman.kouril@upol.cz.