AUTHOR=Haniewicz Patrycja , Floris Davide , Farci Domenica , Kirkpatrick Joanna , Loi Maria C. , Büchel Claudia , Bochtler Matthias , Piano Dario 

TITLE=Isolation of Plant Photosystem II Complexes by Fractional Solubilization

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2015

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2015.01100

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2015.01100

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Photosystem II (PSII) occurs in different forms and supercomplexes in thylakoid membranes. Using a transplastomic strain of <italic>Nicotiana tabacum</italic> histidine tagged on the subunit PsbE, we have previously shown that a mild extraction protocol with β-dodecylmaltoside enriches PSII characteristic of lamellae and grana margins. Here, we characterize residual granal PSII that is not extracted by this first solubilization step. Using affinity purification, we demonstrate that this PSII fraction consists of PSII-LHCII mega- and supercomplexes, PSII dimers, and PSII monomers, which were separated by gel filtration and functionally characterized. Our findings represent an alternative demonstration of different PSII populations in thylakoid membranes, and they make it possible to prepare PSII-LHCII supercomplexes in high yield.</p>