Formation of Cross-Linked Products of The Reaction Center D1 Protein in Photosystem II under Light Stress

When illuminated with strong visible light, the reaction center Dl protein of photo system II is photodamage and degraded. Reactive oxygen species and endogenous cationic radicals generated by photochemical reactions are the cause of the damage to the Dl protein. Recently we found that the photodamaged Dl protein cross-links with the surrounding polypeptides such as D2 and CP43 in photosystem II. As the cross-linking reaction is dependent on the presence of oxygen, reactive oxygen species are suggested to be involved. Among the reactive oxygen species examined, ？ OH was most effective in the formation of the cross-linked products. These results indicate that the cross-linking is mostly due to ？ OH generated at photosystem II. The cross-linking site of the Dl protein is not known. As several tyrosine residues exist at the D­E loop of the Dl protein, there is a possibility that di-Tyr is formed between the D­E loop of the Dl protein and surrounding polypeptides during the strong illumination. Therefore, we examined the formation of di-Tyr using the monoclonal antibody against di-Tyr under excess illumination of the photosystem II membranes. The results obtained here suggest that no di-Tyr is formed during the excess illumination of photosystem II.