Thermodynamics of charge separation of photosystem I in the menA and menB null mutants of synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 determined by pulsed photoacoustics

When the biosynthesis of phylloquinone is inhibited in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 by interrupting the menA or the menB gene, photosystem I (PS I) recruits plastoquinone-9 (A _P) to occupy the A1 sites. In PS I from the menA and menB null mutants, forward electron transfer from the quinone to the FeS clusters occurs approximately 1000 times slower than in wild-type PS I [Semenov, A. Yu., Vassiliev, I. R., van der Est, A., Mamedov, M. D., Zybailov, B., Shen, G., Stehlik, D., Diner, B. A., Chitnis, P. R., and Golbeck, J. H. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275, 23429-23438]. To investigate the effect on thermodynamics, the enthalpy and volume changes of charge separation in PS I in the menA and menB mutants were measured using pulsed time-resolved photoacoustics on the nanosecond and microsecond time scales. The observed thermodynamic data are the same for the menA and menB mutants. This is expected because the recruited quinone (A _P) is the same in both mutants. The volume change of PS I from the mutants following charge separation on both time scales was -17 ±2 Å ³, less than that of the wild type, -21 Å ³. The quantum yield of charge separation was found to be slightly lower (85 ± 9%) than that of wild-type PS I (96 ±10%). The observed reaction is assigned to the formation of P ₇₀₀ ⁺A _P ^- from P ₇₀₀*A _P. An enthalpy change (δH) of -0.69 ± 0.07 eV was obtained for this reaction. In contrast, a larger enthalpy change -0.8 eV for the formation of P ₇₀₀ ⁺A ₁ ^- from P ₇₀₀* and an apparent entropy change (TδS, T = 25 °C) of -0.2 eV were obtained in wild-type PS I [Hou, H. J. M., and Mauzerall, D. (2006) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 128, 1580-1586]. Taking the free energy to be -0.70 eV in PS I of the mutants, the apparent entropy is close to zero in the mutants. Since the apparent entropy change for the overall reaction of the production of P ₇₀₀ ⁺F _A/B- from P ₇₀₀* is very likely the same as that of the wild type, +0.35 eV, this implies that the reaction of P ₇₀₀ ⁺A _P ^-F _A/B → P ₇₀₀ ⁺A _PF ^A/B- in the mutants is almost completely entropy driven (δG ) -0.07 eV and TδS = +0.40 eV). These results show that not only the kinetics but also the thermodynamics of electron transfer reactions in PS I are significantly affected by the recruitment of the foreign plastoquinone-9 into the A ₁ site.