Plant Physiol, January 2003, Vol. 131, pp. 198-214

Proteomics of Light-Harvesting Proteins in Different Plant Species. Analysis and Comparison by Liquid Chromatography-Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry. Photosystem II¹

Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy (L.Z., A.-M.T.); Institute of Analytical Chemistry and Radiochemistry, Leopold-Franzens-University, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria (W.W.); and Instrumental Analysis and Bioanalysis, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany (C.G.H.)

An overview of the intact molecular masses and the hydrophobic properties of the photosystem II (PSII) light-harvesting proteins in 14 different plant species is presented. The protein separation and identification was achieved by means of reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry. The good correspondence of the molecular masses measured by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry with those deduced from the DNA sequence (0.008%-0.016% relative deviation in Arabidopsis) enabled the identification of the different protein types. Utilizing this correlation, it was possible in several cases to spot a gene product for the previously cloned genes. In PSII, all antenna proteins show hydrophobic properties considerably different within the same as well as among various species, in contrast to observations made previously with PSI. These differences might reflect a tuning of protein-protein interactions that play a role in inducing different supramolecular organizations of PSII: within the same species as a consequence of short-term adaptations, and among species for seasonal species adaptation. The relative antenna stoichiometry was readily established on the basis of relative peak areas of the separated proteins in the ultraviolet chromatograms. The correspondence found between the high copy number of genes with the gene products reveals that the genes are not silent in their protein expression. Moreover, the high copy number of gene products as well as protein heterogeneity observed in PSII suggest a possible plant strategy to realize the high degree of organization and interconnection of the light-harvesting systems under any environmental conditions.