Inhibitory Effect of Crown Compound on Photoelectron Transport Activity of Beet Spinach Thylakoid Membranes

Abstract

Abstract The effect of K-picrate-18-crown-6 (crown) on the photoelectron transport activity of beet spinach thylakoid membranes was investigated. Addition of micromolar concentration of crown to thylakoid preparation inhibited p-benzoquinone, chloride-indophenol, methyl viologen supported Hill activities maximally by 75 per cent in a concentration dependent manner. However, the photosystem I catalyzed reaction remained insensitive to crown suggesting that crown specifically inhibits photosystem II electron transport. Addition of exogenous electron donors like hydroxylamine or diphenylcarbazide failed to restore the crown induced inhibition of photosystem II electron transport and lowering of steady state chlorophyll a fluorescence yield. These observations suggest that crown also inhibits photosystem II catalyzed electron transport after the donation sites of these exogenous donors. Washing of the crown pre-treated thylakoids with isolation buffer, relieved the crown inhibited electron transport activity, indicating that this inhibition is reversible. Furthermore, in hydroxylamine washed thylakoids which are devoid of O2 evolution capacity, the hydroxylamine induced increase in chlorophyll a fluorescence of variable yield was quenched by the addition of crown. These observations suggest that crown affects the oxygen evolution and inhibits at a site close to photosystem II reaction centres.