Publications by authors named "Minoru Kumazawa"
Article Synopsis
- Photosynthetic organisms have diverse light-harvesting complexes (LHCs) that connect with photosystem I (PSI) to form supercomplexes, but their binding mechanisms are not fully understood.* -
- This study determined the structure of a PSI supercomplex containing fucoxanthin chlorophyll-binding proteins (FCPs) from the diatom CCMP1335, identifying five specific FCPI subunits.* -
- Structural analyses revealed important protein interactions and evolutionary conservation of motifs that help FCPI subunits selectively bind to PSI, advancing our understanding of diatom assembly processes.*
Article Synopsis
- * The study explores the evolution of light-harvesting complex I (LHCI) structures in these algae, noting that while seven groups of Lhcr are maintained in Rhodophytina, some LHCIs were lost due to genome reduction and endosymbiosis events in different species.
- * The researchers introduce the term "neolocalization" to describe the flexible reorganization of LHCIs observed in these species and emphasize the combination of molecular phylogeny and structural analysis to understand the evolutionary history
Article Synopsis
- Light-harvesting complexes (LHCs) vary across photosynthetic organisms, and the structure of the PSI-LHCI supercomplex differs by species, but little is known about the correlations among red-lineage LHCs.
- Researchers created a detailed 3D structure of the PSI-LHCI supercomplex from the red alga RK-1, revealing five specific LHCI subunits surrounding a PSI core.
- The study included phylogenetic analysis, which showed clear evolutionary relationships among certain LHCs within red-lineage algae but no parallels with LHCs from other related structures, enhancing our understanding of LHC diversity and conservation.
Fucoxanthin chlorophyll (Chl) a/c-binding proteins (FCPs) function as light harvesters in diatoms. The structure of a diatom photosystem II-FCPII (PSII-FCPII) supercomplex have been solved by cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) previously; however, the FCPII subunits that constitute the FCPII tetramers and monomers are not identified individually due to their low resolutions. Here, we report a 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Diatoms have a unique light-harvesting system that helps them adapt to different aquatic light environments and play a significant role in the global carbon cycle.
- Recent research on the diatom Chaetoceros gracilis identified 46 fucoxanthin chlorophyll a/c binding proteins (FCPs), which were classified into five subfamilies.
- Understanding the diversification of these proteins among diatom species provides insights into their adaptation to varying light conditions and the evolutionary history of red algae.
Photosynthesis in cyanobacteria, green algae, and basal land plants is protected against excess reducing pressure on the photosynthetic chain by flavodiiron proteins (FLV) that dissipate photosynthetic electrons by reducing O. In these organisms, the genes encoding FLV are always conserved in the form of a pair of two-type isozymes (FLVA and FLVB) that are believed to function in O photo-reduction as a heterodimer. While coral symbionts (dinoflagellates of the family Symbiodiniaceae) are the only algae to harbor FLV in photosynthetic red plastid lineage, only one gene is found in transcriptomes and its role and activity remain unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlants in Mongolian grasslands are exposed to short, dry summers and long, cold winters. These plants should be prepared for fast germination and growth activity in response to the limited summer rainfall. The wild plant species adapted to the Mongolian grassland environment may allow us to explore useful genes, as a source of unique genetic codes for crop improvement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhotosynthetic organisms regulate pigment composition and molecular oligomerization of light-harvesting complexes in response to solar light intensities, in order to improve light-harvesting efficiency. Here we report excitation-energy dynamics and relaxation of fucoxanthin chlorophyll a/c-binding protein (FCP) complexes isolated from a diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum grown under high-light (HL) illumination. Two types of FCP complexes were prepared from this diatom under the HL condition, whereas one FCP complex was isolated from the cells grown under a low-light (LL) condition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhotosynthetic light-harvesting complexes (LHCs) play a pivotal role in collecting solar energy for photochemical reactions in photosynthesis. One of the major LHCs are fucoxanthin chlorophyll a/c-binding proteins (FCPs) present in diatoms, a group of organisms having important contribution to the global carbon cycle. Here, we report a 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF