Differential turnover of the photosystem II reaction centre D1 protein in mesophyll and bundle sheath chloroplasts of maize

Photoinhibition is caused by an imbalance between the rates of the damage and repair cycle of photosystem II D1 protein in thylakoid membranes. The PSII repair processes include (i) disassembly of damaged PSII–LHCII supercomplexes and PSII core dimers into monomers, (ii) migration of the PSII monomers to the stroma regions of thylakoid membranes, (iii) dephosphorylation of the CP43, D1 and D2 subunits, (iv) degradation of damaged D1 protein, and (v) co-translational insertion of the newly synthesized D1 polypeptide and reassembly of functional PSII complex. Here, we studied the D1 turnover cycle in maize mesophyll and bundle sheath chloroplasts using a protein synthesis inhibitor, lincomycin. In both types of maize chloroplasts, PSII was found as the PSII–LHCII supercomplex, dimer and monomer. The PSII core and the LHCII proteins were phosphorylated in both types of chloroplasts in a light-dependent manner. The rate constants for photoinhibition measured for lincomycin-treated leaves were comparable to those reported for C3 plants, suggesting that the kinetics of the PSII photodamage is similar in C3 and C4 species. During the photoinhibitory treatment the D1 protein was dephosphorylated in both types of chloroplasts but it was rapidly degraded only in the bundle sheath chloroplasts. In mesophyll chloroplasts, PSII monomers accumulated and little degradation of D1 protein was observed. We postulate that the low content of the Deg1 enzyme observed in mesophyll chloroplasts isolated from moderate light grown maize may retard the D1 repair processes in this type of plastids.