STUDIES OF CA2+ BINDING IN SPINACH PHOTOSYSTEM-II USING CA-45(2+)

The Ca2+-binding properties of photosystem II were investigated with radioactive Ca-45(2+). PS II membranes, isolated from spinach grown on a medium containing Ca-45(2+), contained 1.5 Ca2+ per PS II unit. Approximately half of the incorporated radioactivity was lost after incubation for 30 h in nonradioactive buffer. About 1 Ca2+/PS II bound slowly to Ca2+-depleted membranes in the presence of the extrinsic 16- and 23-kDa polypeptides in parallel with restoration of oxygen-evolving activity. The binding was heterogeneous with dissociation constants of 60 mu M (0.7 Ca2+/PS II) and 1.7 mM (0.3 Ca2+/PS II), respectively, which could reflect different affinities of the dark-stable S-states for Ca2+. The reactivation of oxygen-evolving activity closely followed the binding of Ca2+, showing that a single exchangeable Ca2+ per PS II is sufficient for the water-splitting reaction to function. In PS II, depleted of the 16- and 23-kDa polypeptides, about 0.7 exchangeable Ca2+/PS II binds with a dissociation constant of 26 mu M, while 0.3 Ca2+ binds with a much weaker affinity (K-d > 0.5 mM). The rate of binding of Ca2+ in the absence of the two extrinsic polypeptides was significantly higher than with the polypeptides bound. The rate of dissociation of bound Ca2+ in the dark, which had a half-time of about 80 h in intact PS II, increased in the absence of the 16- and 23-kDa polypeptides and showed a further increase after the additional removal of the 33-kDa protein and manganese. The rate of dissociation was also significantly faster in weak light than in the dark regardless of the presence or absence of the 16- and 23-kDa polypeptides. Removal of the 33-kDa donor-side polypeptide together with the two lighter ones led to a reduction in the amount of bound Ca2+, while practically no Ca2+ bound after treatments to dissociate also the manganese of the water-oxidizing site.