Table Of ContentPHOTOSYNTHESIS
Molecular Biology and Bioenergetics
Springer-Verlag
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PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Molecular Biology and Bioenergetics
Proceedings of the International Workshop on
Application of Molecular Biology and Bioenergetics of
Photosynthesis
Edited by
G. S. SINGHAL, JAMES BARBER, RICHARD A. DILLEY,
GOVINDJEE, ROBERT HASELKORN, PRASANNA MOHANTY
Springer-Verlag
Narosa Publishing House
Narosa Publishing House
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© 1989 Narosa Publishing House
Softcover reprint of the hardcover I st edition 1989
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ISBN-13: 978-3-642-74223-1 e-ISBN-13: 978-3-642-74221-7
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Published by N. K. Mehra for and on behalf of
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"Believe nothing
merely because you have been told it,
or because it is traditional,
or because you yourself have imagined it,
Do not believe what your teacher tells you,
merely out of respect for the teacher,
But whatever after due examination and analysis,
you find to be conducive to the good
the benefit,
the welfare of all beings,
that doctrine believe and cling to,
and take it as your guide."
-LORD BUDDHA
Foreword
The Workshop on Applications of Molecular Biology and Bioenergetics of
Photosynthesis has been held at a time when plant scientists are searching
for new methods of raising the ceiling to yield in economic plants. Yield of
a crop plant is the product of interaction between the physiologic efficiency
of the plant and the management efficiency of the farmer. The physiologic
efficiency is in turn controlled by both the genetic make-up of the plant and
the environmental conditions under which the crop is cultivated. This
workshop has therefore dealt with a wide range of problems affecting
photosynthesis under conditions of optimal growing conditions as well as
under different stresses-such as moisture deficit and excess, heat, salinity
and micronutrient deficiencies.
I am glad the effects of UV radiation have also been studied since we
need more data in this field consequent on the postulated increase in UV
radiation arising from the depletion of the ozone layer caused by the
excessive use of chlorofluorocarbons. Similarly, an understanding of the
molecular and physiological aspects of herbicide resistance is important,
since in the tropics and sub-tropics weed infestation is a major factor
limiting fertilizer-use efficiency and thereby yield.
The papers on the impact of senescence on different aspects of wheat
chloroplasts are exceedingly interesting from the point of view of
understanding the changes associated with ageing. I am also glad that
photosynthesis in mangrove vegetation has received attention since several
countries are endowed with rich mangrove ecosystems.
Countries in the tropics and sub-tropics are faced with shrinking land
resources for agriculture and expanding human and animal populations.
India, for example, will have to produce annually 230 to 250 million tonnes
of food grains, about 700 million tonnes of livestock fodder and over 200
million tonnes of fuel wood by the year 2000. The additional production
will have to come from higher productivity per unit of land, water and
time. So far, the pathway to yield improvement adopted by plant breeders
has been the alteration of the harvest index in favour of grains or other
economic parts. The challenge now is to increase the total biological yield.
The scope for merely altering the partition pathway has been practically
exhausted in crops like wheat and rice.
viii Foreword
We need a greater understanding of the molecular aspects of bioenerge-
tics as related to photosynthesis in order to undertake purposeful
experiments in genetic engineering. The proceedings of the Workshop on
this topic thus constitute a timely and valuable addition to the literature on
this subject. We owe a deep debt of gratitude to Professor G. S. Singhal,
Professor Prasanna Mohanty and their colleagues for this labour of love. I
also congratulate them on the excellence of this book.
The earth has remained a comfortable place for living organisms for a
whole 3.5 billion years since life began, despite a 25 pet cent increase in the
output of heat from the sun. Will we maintain this legacy? This will depend
upon our ability to maintain a healthy photosynthetic pathway of
development.
(Dr. M. S. Swami nathan)
President, International Union for the
Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
Preface
Plant productivity depends upon the photosynthetic conversion of the
energy of sunlight into free energy stored in the biomass of plants. An
intermediate step in this energy conversion process is electron transfer and
proton translocation.
Efforts are currently under way, using molecular biology as a tool, to
alter the polypeptides that are involved in electron transport and proton
translocation. For example, site-specific mutagenesis is being used to
replace amino acids thought to be essential for electron transfer and proton
translocation. Work of this type will not only help to determine the
mechanisms of electron transfer and proton translocation, but will also
provide an opportunity to improve plant performance under conditions of
stress, such as drought, salt stress and herbicide resistance, which have all
been shown to influence photosynthetic electron transport. The latest
techniques of molecular genetics and molecular biology have the potential
to answer the vital questions about the mechanism of energy transduction
and molecular structure of the photosynthetic apparatus.
At present, several research groups are working on projects that are
expected to lead to rapid improvement of our understanding of the
photosynthetic process and, as a consequence of the application of
biotechnology to higher plants, to improved plant performance. From 4 to
8 January 1988 an international workshop on the Application of Molecular
Biology and Bioenergetics of Photosynthesis was held at the School of Life
Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. This workshop
brought together scientists from all over the world, who were using the
latest techniques of molecular biology, biochemistry and biophysics for the
study of the chemical and physical processes of photosynthetic electron
transport and proton translocation. This book consists of the contributions
of the participants at this workshop and is a compilation of the state-of-art
knowledge on this subject.
-EDITORS
Acknowledgements
The organizing committee of the International Workshop on Applications
of Molecular Biology and Bioenergetics of Photosynthesis would like to
express its appreciation for financial and other support received from the
following agencies-Department of Biotechnology, Government of India;
Department of Science and Technology, Government of India; University
Grants Commission, India; Council of Scientific and Industrial Research,
India; Jawaharlal Nehru University, India; United Nations Educational
Scientific and Cultural Organisation, India; National Science Foundation,
USA and India; United States Department of Agriculture, USA; British
Council, UK and India; and other agencies who totally or partially funded
the delegates from England, Germany, Greece, Holland and Japan. We
would like to thank Drs G. Papageorgiou, H. N. Singh, H. S.
Raghavendra, U. C. Biswal, V. Krishnan, H. Pakrasi, A. K. Verma and
B. C. Tripathy for their oral presentations at the Workshop on various
interesting topics related to molecular biology and bioenergetics of
photosynthesis. Due to unavoidable circumstances, these presentations
could not be included in this book.
We also extend our thanks for presentations in the form of posters to Drs
Anbudurai, Behra, Bhardwaj, Bhonsale, Amba, Bose, Bhagwat, Chatur-
vedi, Choudhury, Khan, Khanna-Chopra, Krishnaswamy, Mathur, Misra,
Sainis, Sengupta, Shyam, Panda, Khan and Vivekanandan. We would like
to thank Dr Ranjana Paliwal for assisting in the preparation of the index.
Contents
PART 1: Genes and Polypeptides of Photo system II
Genes of the Photosynthetic Apparatus of Higher Plants
Structure, Expression and Strategies for their Engineering
A. K. TYAGI,N. Y. KELKAR,S. KAPOOR AND S. C. MAHESHWARI 3
Specific Mutagenesis as a Tool for the Analysis of Structure/
Function Relationships in Photos ystem II
WIM VERMAAS, SHELLY CARPENTER AND CANDACE BUNCH 21
Replication of Chloroplast DNA: Replication Origins,
Topoisomerase I, and In Vitro Replication
BRENT L. NIELSEN, ROBERT MEEKER AND K. K. TEWARI 37
Molecular Genetics of Herbicide Resistance in Cyanobacteria
JUDY BRUSSLAN AND ROBERT HASELKORN 53
Molecular Analysis of a Gene (irp A) Encoding a Function
Essential for Iron-limited Growth in the Cyanobacterium
Anacystis nidulans R2
GEORGE S. BULLERJAHN, K. J. REDDY, HAROLD C. RIETHMAN AND
LOUIS A. SHERMAN 63
Primary Structure and Expression in Escherichia coli of the
Mn-stabilising Protein Involved in Photosystem II Water
Oxidation
TOMOHIKO KUW ABARA 77
Further Characterisation of the Isolated PS2 Reaction Centre
J. BARBER, D. J. CHAPMAN, K. GOUNARIS AND A. TELFER 85
Use of Synthetic Peptides in Studies on the Biogenesis and
Phosphorylation of Photosystem II Proteins
w. E. BUVINGER, H. P. MICHEL, A. SUTTON AND J. BENNETT 103
Functional Role for 33KDa Proteins in the Oxygen Evolution
Complex (OEC)
P. M.NAIRANDN. K.RAMASWAMY 117
Heat-shock Proteins Associated with Chloroplasts
A. GNANAM. S. KRISHNASAMY AND R. MANNAR MANNAN 135
The Role of Chloride in Oxygen Evolution
GOVINDJEE 143
Isolation of a Highly Active PSII Preparation from Wheat
Triticum Aestivum and the Chemical Modification of Tyrosine
Residues with 4-chloro-7 -nitrobenzofurazan (NBD-Cl)
RANJANA PALIWAL, JAI PARKASH AND G. S. SINGHAL 163
