Characterization of the main light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-protein complex of green alga, Bryopsis corticulans

The main light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b -protein complex (LHC II) has been isolated directly from thylakoid membranes of shiphonous green alga, Bryopsis corticulans Setch. by using two consecutive runs of anion exchange and gel-filtration chromatography. Monomeric and trimeric subcomplexes of LHC 11 were obtained by using sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation. Pigment analysis by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography showed that chlorophyll a (Chl a), chlorophyll b (Chl b), neoxanthin, violaxanthin and siphonaxanthin were involved in LHC 11 from B. corticulans. The properties of electronic transition of monomeric LHC II showed similarities to those of trimeric LHC II. Circular dichroism spectroscopy showed that strong intramolecular interaction of excitonic dipoles between Chl a and between Chl b exist in one LHC II apoprotein, while the intermolecular interaction of these dipoles can be intensified in the trimeric structure. The monomer has high efficient energy transfer from Chl b and siphonaxanthin to Chl a similarly to that of the trimer. Our results suggest that in B. corticulans, LHC II monomer has high ordered pigment organization that play effective physiological function as the trimer, and thus it might be also a functional organization existing in thylakoid membrane of B. corticulans.

Isolation of the main light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-protein complex from thylakoid membranes of marine alga, Bryopsis corticulans by a direct method

The main chlorophyll a/b light-harvesting complex (LHC 11) has been isolated directly from thylakoid membranes of marine green alga (Bryopsis corticulans Setch.) by two consecutive runs of anion exchange and gel-filtration chromatography. LHC 11 proteins in the membrane extracts treated with 3% n-Octyl-b-D-glucopyranoside (OG) obtained specific binding ability on Q Sepharose column, and thus were isolated from the thylakoid membranes in a highly selective fraction. The monomeric, trimeric and oligomeric subcomplexes of LHC 11 have been obtained by fractionation of the LHC 11 mixes with sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation. The SDS-PAGE analysis of peptide composition and absorption spectrum showed that LHC 11 monomers, trimers and oligomers prepared through this work were intact and in high purity. Our report is the first to show that it is possible to purify LHC If directly from thylakoid membranes without extensively biochemical purification.

Agglutinins from marine macroalgae of the southeastern United States

Protein extracts from 22 species of marine macroalgae from Florida and North Carolina were compared for their abilities to agglutinate sheep and rabbit erythrocytes. Protein extracts from 21 algal species agglutinated rabbit erythrocytes compared to 19 for sheep erythrocytes. However, agglutination by brown algal extracts was variable. The agglutination produced by protein extracts from Dictyota dichotoma could be blocked by addition of polyvinylpyrrolidone. Protein extracts from North Carolina macroalgae were also tested against five bacterial species. Three of these agglutinated bacterial cells. Ulva curvata and Bryopsis plumosa agglutinated all five species. Protein extracts from five species of Florida algae were tested for their effects on mitogenesis in mouse splenocytes and human lymphocytes. Gracilaria tikvahiae HBOI Strain G-5, Ulva rigida and Gracilaria verrucosa HBOI Strain G-16S stimulated mitogenesis in mouse splenocytes, while Gracilaria tikvahiae HBOI Strain G-16stimulated mitogenesis in human lymphocytes.

Acyclic diterpene alcohols isolated from four algae of Bryopsidophyceae and their toxicity

Three new acylic diterpenoids belonging to the class of phytol series have been isolated. They were obtained from the ethyl acetate soluble fractions of four siphonaceous green seaweeds, Bryopsis pennata Lamour., Caulerpa taxifolia (Vahl) C. Ag., Codium decorticatum (Woodw.) Howe and Valoniopsis pachynema (Mart.) Børg., collected from Karachi coast of Pakistan. Structures of these compounds were elucidated with the help of spectroscopic methods and confirmed by comparison with the known compounds. Even the known compounds are being reported for the first time from a green algal source. All the compounds were found to display a strong toxicity at all the three concentrations tested in the brine shrimp bioassay.

假根羽藻不同聚集态捕光色素蛋白复合物（LHC II）的纯化与功能分析

应用温和、非变性的液相色谱层析技术以及蔗糖密度梯度分级分离技术，从假根羽藻类囊体膜直接分离、纯化出5种不同聚集态的光系统II捕光色素蛋白复合物(LHC II)，即LHC II单体、同质三聚体、异质三聚体、寡聚体l和寡聚体2。这种分离、纯化LHC II的方法与传统的等电聚焦(IEF)电泳分离方法相比，具有蛋白质提取条件温和，纯化的蛋白质样品纯度高且数量大等优点，为进一步研究LHC II分子的晶体结构和功能创造了有利的条件。 SDS-PAGE电泳分析和MALDI-TOF质谱分析结果表明，纯化得到的LHC II单体和同质三聚体都具有一种分子量为24.3 kDa的脱辅基蛋白质，而异质三聚体和两种寡聚体除含有这个脱辅基蛋白外，还含有另一种分子量为23 kDa的脱辅基蛋白。 采用室温吸收光谱、低温荧光光谱及园二色(CD)光谱技术对LHC II单体、同质三聚体、异质三聚体、寡聚体l和寡聚体2内的叶绿素组成以及叶绿索之间的能量传递特性进行分析研究表明，在同一条组成LHC II的脱辅基蛋白多肽链上结合着Chl a二聚体，二聚体内的两个Chl a分子之间存在偶极子相互作用。在这5种LHC II亚复合物中均具有Chl a-Chl a相Chl biChl a→ Chl a能量传递途径，其中同质三聚体表现出最高的能量传递效率，而寡聚体的传能效率大大低于单体和三聚体，同时出现Chl a的淬灭现象。当LHC II脱辅基蛋白质高度聚集形成寡聚体时，其蛋白质上结合的Chlb大量减少，引起这两种寡聚体吸能和传能能力的急剧下降。 LHC II单体、同质三聚体、异质三聚体、寡聚体1和寡聚体2的二级结构数据表明，自由堆积的脱辅基蛋白的二级结构以8．折叠构象为主，当LHC II蛋白质有序聚集形成三聚体时，可能每条蛋白质多肽链上的叶绿素结合区域形成两个跨膜a-螺旋，对称排列在脂双层膜内，而非叶绿素结合区则形成一条跨膜a-螺旋。当LHC II蛋白质高度聚集形成寡聚体 时，LHC II蛋白质的二级结构似乎对其上结合着的叶绿素的影响不大，而LHC II寡聚体内蛋白质的高密度聚集引起的更高级的蛋白质相互之间的空间结构可能对叶绿素的影响起主要作用，特别是破坏Chlb结合位点。 依据上述的实验结果推测在类囊体膜内，LHC II可能通过其脱辅基蛋白聚集形式的转换，调控其光能吸收和激发能传递的过程和效率。

假根羽藻细胞色素b6f蛋白复合体中α-胡萝卜素的结构与功能

细胞色素b6f蛋白复合体（Cyt b6f）是光合链中连接两个光系统（PSII 和PSI）的中间电子载体蛋白复合物，其主要的生理功能是催化电子传递和质子跨膜转移，形成跨膜质子电化学梯度，为ATP的合成提供能量，在光合作用光能转化过程中占有很重要的地位。细菌和莱茵衣藻Cyt b6f的晶体结构已于2003年底获得了近原子水平的解析，但有关该复合物中两种色素（Chl a和β-Car）的生理功能及其机理尚无明确的解释。预计它们将成为今后几年的研究热点,因为揭示Cyt b6f蛋白复合体中Chl a和β-Car分子的生理功能对于进一步阐明光合作用高效转能及其调控的分子机理具十分重要的意义。鉴于目前尚未见到海洋绿藻Cyt b6f的报道，本文以海洋绿藻—假根羽藻（Bryopsis corticulans）类囊体膜上的Cyt b6f蛋白复合体为对象，对其中的类胡萝卜素的分子结构与生理功能进行了比较系统地研究。 首先，我们改进了原用于菠菜类囊体膜Cyt b6f的分离、纯化流程，在原流程的基础上增加了一次2 mol/L NaBr洗膜，彻底地去除了膜表面的杂蛋白;还调整了第二次硫酸铵分级沉淀时的饱和度，并将38-45%饱和度下的沉淀物确定为需要收集的Cyt b6f制剂。采用此改进的流程，我们首次从假根羽藻类囊体膜中分离纯化了高活性、高纯度的Cyt b6f制剂。SDS-PAGE分析的结果显示该制剂的4个多肽亚基 （Cytf 、Cyt b6 、Rieske[Fe-s]及亚基IV）的表观分子量分别为34.8、24.0、18.7和16.7 kD;Cyt b6 / f 比值接近2.0， 其纯度值为9.9 nmol cyt f/mg;其催化电子传递的活性 （C10-PQH2→PC）为73 e/s。HPLC 和共振拉曼光谱分析表明，假根羽藻Cyt b6f中的类胡萝卜素为α-胡萝卜素分子，它是一种在Cyt b6f中尚未报道过的类胡萝卜素。定量分析表明，每个假根羽藻Cyt b6f单体中全反式(all-trans)和9顺式（9-cis）α-胡萝卜素的含量分别为0.2和0.7个分子，另外还含有1.2分子的Chl a。CD光谱分析表明该9-cis-α-胡萝卜素处在一个不对称的蛋白环境中。TLC分析表明该制剂是一种缺脂的Cyt b6f蛋白复合体。 采用稳态荧光激发光谱，时间分辨吸收光谱及Chl a的光破坏实验对假根羽藻Cyt b6f中α-胡萝卜素的功能进行了研究。结果表明，Cyt b6f中α-胡萝卜素可以将它吸收的光能传递给Chl a，其能量传递效率为62.4%，提出α-胡萝卜素分子与Chl a分子之间的单线态能量传递是遵从Föster 机制进行的;α-胡萝卜素分子对Chl a分子有一定的光保护作用，这种保护作用是通过清除单线态氧来实现的。另外还发现Cyt b6f中的Chl a分子可能与其周围的氨基酸残基存在相互作用，认为这是其进行自我光保护的一种方式。 此外，还采用HPLC研究了光和暗交替对假根羽藻Cyt b6f中α-胡萝卜素构型的影响，并对假根羽藻Cyt b6f选择结合α-胡萝卜素的原因进行了初步的分析。

Taxonomic study of coenocytic green algae commonly growing on the coast of Karachi

Twelve commonly occurring coenocytic and siphonaceous species of marine benthic algae, i.e., Bryopsis pennatta Lamouroux, Caulerpa chemnitzia (Esper) Lamouroux, Ca. faridii Nizamuddin, Ca. manorensis Nizamuddin, Ca. racemosa (Forsskal) J. Agardh, Ca. taxifolia. (Vahl) C. Agardh, Chaetomorpha antennina (Bory de Saint-Vincent) Kutzing, Cladophora uncinella Harvey, Codium decorticatum (Woodward) Howe, Co. flabellatum Nizamuddin, Co. iyengarii Borgesen, and Valoniopsis pachynema (Martens) Borgesen, belonging to four different orders of the class Bryopsidophyceae, division Chlorophyta, were collected from the intertidal region of different coastal areas near Karachi (Pakistan) and investigated taxonomically. Codium decorticatum is a new report from this region and Co. decorticatum, Co. flabellatum and Co. iyengarii are described for the first time from the coast of Pakistan.

Characteristics and comparative study of chlorophyll-protein complexes from siphonous green algae

By mild PAGE method, 11, 11, 7 and 9 chlorophyll-protein complexes were isolated from two species of siphonous green algae ( Codium fragile (Sur.) Harlot and Bryopsis corticulans Setch.), green alga (Ulothrix flacca (Dillw.) Thur.), and spinach (Spinacia oleracea Mill.), respectively. Apparent molecular weights, Chi a/b ratios, distribution of chlorophyll, absorption spectra, low temperature fluorescence spectra of these complexes were determined, and compared with one another. PS I complexes of two siphonous green algae are larger in apparent molecular weight because of the attachment of relative highly aggregated LHC I. Four isolated light-harvesting complexes of PSII are all siphonaxanthin-Chl a/b-protein complexes, and they are not monomers and oligomers like those in higher plants. Especially, the absence of 730 nn fluorescence in PS I complexes indicates a distinct structure and energy transfer pattern.

Extraction of the polysaccharides from five algae and their potential antioxidant activity in vitro

The sulfated polysaccharides extracted from algae possess excellent antioxidant activities. In this study, we prepared five polysaccharides extracted from five algae including one brown alga Laminaria japonica. one red alga Porphyra haitanensis and three green algae Ulva pertusa, Enteromorpha linza and Bryopsis plumose. And then the antioxidant activities of all the samples were investigated including scavenging effects of superoxide and hydroxyl radicals, and reducing power. The chemical analysis and FT-IR spectrum showed these extracts were polysaccharides. And in addition, we found that certain polysaccharide exhibited stronger antioxidant activity in certain antioxidant activity. Factors effecting and attributing to radical scavenging effect need to be further studied. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.