Cryptophytes are ancestral photosynthetic organisms evolved from red algae through secondary endosymbiosis. They have developed alloxanthin-chlorophyll a/c2-binding proteins (ACPs) as light-harvesting complexes (LHCs). The distinctive properties of cryptophytes contribute to efficient oxygenic photosynthesis and underscore the evolutionary relationships of red-lineage plastids. Here we present the cryo-electron microscopy structure of the Photosystem II (PSII)-ACPII supercomplex from the cryptophyte Chroomonas placoidea. The structure includes a PSII dimer and twelve ACPII monomers forming four linear trimers. These trimers structurally resemble red algae LHCs and cryptophyte ACPI trimers that associate with Photosystem I (PSI), suggesting their close evolutionary links. We also determine a Chl a-binding subunit, Psb-γ, essential for stabilizing PSII-ACPII association. Furthermore, computational calculation provides insights into the excitation energy transfer pathways. Our study lays a solid structural foundation for understanding the light-energy capture and transfer in cryptophyte PSII-ACPII, evolutionary variations in PSII-LHCII, and the origin of red-lineage LHCIIs.
Organizational Affiliation:
Marine Biotechnology Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, China. zhangyz@sdu.edu.cn.
(1~{R})-3,5,5-trimethyl-4-[(3~{E},5~{E},7~{E},9~{E},11~{E},13~{E},15~{E},17~{E})-3,7,12,16-tetramethyl-18-(2,6,6-trimethylcyclohexen-1-yl)octadeca-3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17-octaen-1-ynyl]cyclohex-3-en-1-ol C40 H54 O UNJKJDIRJWIHLL-BQLQDKTLSA-N
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