Quantification of energy-converting protein complexes in plant thylakoid membranes.

Knowledge about the exact abundance and ratio of photosynthetic protein complexes in thylakoid membranes is central to understanding structure-function relationships in energy conversion. Recent modeling approaches for studying light harvesting and electron transport reactions rely on quantitative information on the constituent complexes in thylakoid membranes. Over the last decades several quantitative methods have been established and refined, enabling precise stoichiometric information on the five main energy-converting building blocks in the thylakoid membrane: Light-harvesting complex II (LHCII), Photosystem II (PSII), Photosystem I (PSI), cytochrome bf complex (cyt bf complex), and ATPase.

Mutants in Auxin Conjugating GH3 Proteins Show Salt Stress Tolerance but Auxin Homeostasis Is Not Involved in Regulation of Oxidative Stress Factors.

Salt stress is among the most challenging abiotic stress situations that a plant can experience. High salt levels do not only occur in areas with obvious salty water, but also during drought periods where salt accumulates in the soil. The moss became a model for studying abiotic stress in non-vascular plants.

The structural and functional domains of plant thylakoid membranes.

In plants, the stacking of part of the photosynthetic thylakoid membrane generates two main subcompartments: the stacked grana core and unstacked stroma lamellae. However, a third distinct domain, the grana margin, has been postulated but its structural and functional identity remains elusive. Here, an optimized thylakoid fragmentation procedure combined with detailed ultrastructural, biochemical, and functional analyses reveals the distinct composition of grana margins.