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. 1984 Apr;3(4):777–783. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1984.tb01884.x

The structure of the photoreceptor unit of Rhodopseudomonas viridis

W Stark 1,*, W Kühlbrandt 1, I Wildhaber 1, E Wehrli 1, K Mühlethaler 1
PMCID: PMC557426  PMID: 16453515

Abstract

The thylakoid membrane of Rhodopseudomonas viridis contains extensive, regular arrays of photoreceptor complexes arranged on a hexagonal lattice with a repeat distance of ˜130 Å. Single membrane sheets were obtained by mild treatment of the thylakoid fraction with the detergent Triton X-100. Heavy metal shadowing and electron microscopy of isolated thylakoids indicated a strong asymmetry of the membrane, showing a smooth plasmic and a rough exoplasmic side. Fourier processing of rotary-shadowed specimens showed the different surface relief on both sides of the membrane. Structural units on both sides were roughly circular and showed 6-fold symmetry at a resolution close to 20 Å. The structural unit was characterised by a central core that seemed to extend through the membrane, protruding on the exoplasmic side. The core was surrounded by a ring showing 12 subunits on the plasmic side. Rotary-shadowed as well as negatively-stained membranes indicated a handedness of the structure. Treatment of thylakoid vesicles with higher detergent concentrations yielded a fraction of particles showing the same features as Fourier maps of the structural units. The isolated particles therefore appeared to represent structurally intact units of photosynthesis.

Keywords: electron microscopy, image analysis, photoreceptor unit, pigment-protein complex, Rhodopseudomonas viridis

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