Hydrogen Peroxide and Superoxide Anion Radical Photoproduction in PSII Preparations at Various Modifications of the Water-Oxidizing Complex

Abstract

The photoproduction of superoxide anion radical (O2−•) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in photosystem II (PSII) preparations depending on the damage to the water-oxidizing complex (WOC) was investigated. The light-induced formation of O2−• and H2O2 in the PSII preparations rose with the increased destruction of the WOC. The photoproduction of superoxide both in the PSII preparations holding intact WOC and the samples with damage to the WOC was approximately two times higher than H2O2. The rise of O2−• and H2O2 photoproduction in the PSII preparations in the course of the disassembly of the WOC correlated with the increase in the fraction of the low-potential (LP) Cyt b559. The restoration of electron flow in the Mn-depleted PSII preparations by exogenous electron donors (diphenylcarbazide, Mn2+) suppressed the light-induced formation of O2−• and H2O2. The decrease of O2−• and H2O2 photoproduction upon the restoration of electron transport in the Mn-depleted PSII preparations could be due to the re-conversion of the LP Cyt b559 into higher potential forms. It is supposed that the conversion of the high potential Cyt b559 into its LP form upon damage to the WOC leads to the increase of photoproduction of O2−• and H2O2 in PSII.