Regulation of thylakoid protein phosphorylation at the substrate level: Reversible light-induced conformational changes expose the phosphorylation site of the light-harvesting complex II

Light-dependent activation of thylakoid protein phosphorylation regulates the energy distribution between photosystems I and II of oxygen-evolving photosynthetic eukaryotes as well as the turnover of photosystem II proteins. So far the only known effect of light on the phosphorylation process is the redox-dependent regulation of the membrane-bound protein kinase(s) activity via plastoquinol bound to the cytochrome bf complex and the redox state of thylakoid dithiols. By using a partially purified thylakoid protein kinase and isolated native chlorophyll (chl) a/b light-harvesting complex II (LHCII), as well as recombinant LHCII, we find that illumination of the chl-protein substrate exposes the phosphorylation site to the kinase. Light does not activate the phosphorylation of the LHCII apoprotein nor the recombinant pigment-reconstituted complex lacking the N-terminal domain that contains the phosphothreonine site. The suggested light-induced conformational change exposing the N-terminal domain of LHCII to the kinase is evidenced also by an increase in its accessibility to tryptic cleavage after light exposure. Light activates preferentially the trimeric form of LHCII, and the process is paralleled by chl fluorescence quenching. Both phenomena are slowly reversible in darkness. Light-induced exposure of the LHCII N-terminal domain to the endogenous protein kinase(s) and tryptic cleavage occurs also in thylakoid membranes. These results demonstrate that light may regulate thylakoid protein phosphorylation not only via the signal transduction chain connecting redox reactions to the protein kinase activation, but also by affecting the conformation of the chl-protein substrate.     

The PPH1 phosphatase is specifically involved in LHCII dephosphorylation and state transitions in Arabidopsis

The ability of plants to adapt to changing light conditions depends on a protein kinase network in the chloroplast that leads to the reversible phosphorylation of key proteins in the photosynthetic membrane. Phosphorylation regulates, in a process called state transition, a profound reorganization of the electron transfer chain and remodeling of the thylakoid membranes. Phosphorylation governs the association of the mobile part of the light-harvesting antenna LHCII with either photosystem I or photosystem II. Recent work has identified the redox-regulated protein kinase STN7 as a major actor in state transitions, but the nature of the corresponding phosphatases remained unknown. Here we identify a phosphatase of Arabidopsis thaliana, called PPH1, which is specifically required for the dephosphorylation of light-harvesting complex II (LHCII). We show that this single phosphatase is largely responsible for the dephosphorylation of Lhcb1 and Lhcb2 but not of the photosystem II core proteins. PPH1, which belongs to the family of monomeric PP2C type phosphatases, is a chloroplast protein and is mainly associated with the stroma lamellae of the thylakoid membranes. We demonstrate that loss of PPH1 leads to an increase in the antenna size of photosystem I and to a strong impairment of state transitions. Thus phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of LHCII appear to be specifically mediated by the kinase/phosphatase pair STN7 and PPH1. These two proteins emerge as key players in the adaptation of the photosynthetic apparatus to changes in light quality and quantity.     

Acrylamide concentration determines the direction and magnitude of helical membrane protein gel shifts

SDS/PAGE is universally used in biochemistry, cell biology, and immunology to resolve minute protein amounts readily from tissue and cell extracts. Although molecular weights of water-soluble proteins are reliably determined from their SDS/PAGE mobility, most helical membrane proteins, which comprise 20–30% of the human genome and the majority of drug targets, migrate to positions that have for decades been unpredictably slower or faster than their actual formula weight, often confounding their identification. Using de novo designed transmembrane-mimetic polypeptides that match the composition of helical membrane-spanning sequences, we quantitate anomalous SDS/PAGE fractionation of helical membrane proteins by comparing the relative mobilities of these polypeptides with typical water-soluble reference proteins on Laemmli gels. We find that both the net charge and effective molecular size of the migrating particles of transmembrane-mimetic species exceed those of the corresponding reference proteins and that gel acrylamide concentration dictates the impact of these two factors on the direction and magnitude of anomalous migration. Algorithms we derived from these data compensate for this differential effect of acrylamide concentration on the SDS/PAGE mobility of a variety of natural membrane proteins. Our results provide a unique means to predict anomalous migration of membrane proteins, thereby facilitating straightforward determination of their molecular weights via SDS/PAGE.Laemmli’s system for polyacrylamide gel protein electrophoresis in the presence of the detergent SDS (SDS/PAGE) is one of the most cited methodological papers in life sciences (1). The facility with which SDS/PAGE resolves minute amounts of proteins revolutionized the analysis of tissue and cell extracts, resulting in “overnight” adoption of the technique in biochemistry, cell biology, immunology, and virology (2). Considered “the single most useful analytical tool to study protein molecules” (3), SDS/PAGE is routinely used for simultaneous determination of protein heterogeneity and molecular weight in applications ranging from diagnosis of hereditary red cell membrane disorders to evaluation of recombinant protein expression and purification procedures. Protein analysis by SDS/PAGE is relatively simple, affordable, and rapid (4): A buffer containing a tracking dye and SDS is added to the sample of interest, the mixture is applied to a polyacrylamide gel, and a potential difference is used to drive the dye and the resulting anionic particle composed of protein and dodecyl sulfate (DS) through the gel. The distance traveled by the protein/DS particle from the top of the gel is then divided by that of the dye to obtain relative migration (R_f), and molecular weight [as relative molecular mass (M_r)] determined by comparison of this value with a logarithmic plot derived from the R_fs and M_rs of reference proteins.Fractionation on SDS/PAGE is controlled by the molecular size and shape of the protein/DS particle, its net charge, and the accessible spaces among the acrylamide fibers that comprise the gel matrix as determined by the total concentration of acrylamide and bis-acrylamide cross-linker [T; Materials and Methods (5)]. Larger particles become trapped within the gel meshwork and migrate slower than smaller species. Low-percentage gels are therefore typically used to resolve larger proteins, and vice versa. Acrylamide concentrations compatible with routine use are usually from 4–20% T due to practical considerations, because gels outside of this range are too fragile or too brittle, respectively, to withstand the physical manipulation(s) required for protein visualization and/or immunoblotting.Most globular, water-soluble proteins are reliably identified by their SDS/PAGE mobility relative to corresponding reference proteins typically used to estimate molecular weight. However, this group of well-behaved polypeptides does not include helical transmembrane (TM) proteins, macromolecules that comprise 20–30% of the human genome (6), comprise the majority of drug targets (7), and are the focus of major pharmaceutical discovery efforts (8). For example, the first true G protein-coupled receptor to be determined to high resolution, 39-kDa bovine rhodopsin (9), migrates on SDS/PAGE to positions consistent with sizes as low as 30 kDa (10). In fact, we have previously shown that the gel mobility of helical TM proteins seldom corresponds to formula molecular weight (11). This phenomenon of “anomalous migration” can arise as a consequence of the high hydrophobicity and concomitant binding of DS by TM proteins at levels that exceed those of water-soluble polypeptides (12). However, quantitation of DS binding stoichiometry is not routine and consumes milligram amounts of purified samples. Thus, the impact of enhanced DS binding on the direction and magnitude of anomalous migration has remained unpredictable for decades, with helical TM proteins variously exhibiting gel mobility reduced, equivalent, or increased relative to reference proteins (11–13). Such differences are generally disregarded when protein identity is known or can be confirmed in orthogonal molecular weight determination procedures but, in many instances, raise questions of protein folding, oligomeric organization, proteolytic processing, posttranslational modification(s), alternative splicing, antibody cross-reaction, and/or degradation. These issues become acute in SDS/PAGE analyses of tissue or cell extracts, where reasonable molecular weight estimates remain crucial for protein identification.Here, we quantitate anomalous SDS/PAGE fractionation of helical membrane proteins by comparing the relative mobilities of de novo designed TM-mimetic peptide polymers with typical water-soluble reference proteins on Laemmli gels ranging from 11–18% T. We find that net charge and effective molecular size among the migrating TM-mimetic species exceed those of the corresponding reference proteins and that gel acrylamide concentration dictates the impact of these two factors on the direction and magnitude of anomalous migration. Algorithms derived from these data compensate for the differential effect of acrylamide concentration on the SDS/PAGE mobility of a variety of natural membrane proteins. Our results provide a straightforward means to predict anomalous migration of membrane proteins relative to reference polypeptides, facilitating their identification by molecular weight in SDS/PAGE applications.     

Role of lipid polymorphism in G protein-membrane interactions: Nonlamellar-prone phospholipids and peripheral protein binding to membranes

Heterotrimeric G proteins (peripheral proteins) conduct signals from membrane receptors (integral proteins) to regulatory proteins localized to various cellular compartments. They are in excess over any G protein-coupled receptor type on the cell membrane, which is necessary for signal amplification. These facts account for the large number of G protein molecules bound to membrane lipids. Thus, the protein-lipid interactions are crucial for their cellular localization, and consequently for signal transduction. In this work, the binding of G protein subunits to model membranes (liposomes), formed with defined membrane lipids, has been studied. It is shown that although G protein α-subunits were able to bind to lipid bilayers, the presence of nonlamellar-prone phospholipids (phosphatidylethanolamines) enhanced their binding to model membranes. This mechanism also appears to be used by other (structurally and functionally unrelated) peripheral proteins, such as protein kinase C and the insect protein apolipophorin III, indicating that it could constitute a general mode of protein-lipid interactions, relevant in the activity and translocation of some peripheral (amphitropic) proteins from soluble to particulate compartments. Other factors, such as the presence of cholesterol or the vesicle surface charge, also modulated the binding of the G protein subunits to lipid bilayers. Conversely, the binding of G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 and the G protein β-subunit to liposomes was not increased by hexagonally prone lipids. Their distinct interactions with membrane lipids may, in part, explain the different cellular localizations of all of these proteins during the signaling process.     

Identification of the mobile light-harvesting complex II polypeptides for state transitions in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

State transition in photosynthesis is a short-term balancing mechanism of energy distribution between photosystem I (PSI) and photosystem II (PSII). When PSII is preferentially excited (state 2), a pool of mobile light-harvesting complex II (LHCII) antenna proteins is thought to migrate from PSII to PSI, but biochemical evidence for a physical association between LHCII proteins and PSI in state 2 is weak. Here, using the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, which has a high capacity for state transitions, we report the isolation of PSI-light-harvesting complex I (LHCI) super-complexes from cells locked into state 1 and state 2. We solubilized the thylakoid membranes with a mild detergent, separated the proteins by sucrose density gradient centrifugation, and subjected gradient fractions to gel-filtration chromatography. Three LHCII polypeptides were associated with a PSI-LHCI supercomplex only in state 2; we identified them as two minor monomeric LHCII proteins (CP26 and CP29) and one previously unreported major LHCII protein type II, or LhcbM5. These three LHCII proteins, in addition to the major trimeric LHCII proteins, were phosphorylated upon transition to state 2. The corresponding phylogenetic tree indicates that among the LHCII proteins associated with PSII, these three LHCII proteins are the most similar to the LHC proteins for PSI (LHCI). Our results are important because CP26, CP29, and LhcbM5, which have been viewed as belonging solely to the PSII complex, are now postulated to shuttle between PSI and PSII during state transitions, thereby acting as docking sites for the trimeric LHCII proteins in both PSI and PSII.     

A role for chlorophyllide a oxygenase in the regulated import and stabilization of light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b proteins

The Arabidopsis CAO gene encodes a 52-kDa protein with predicted localization in the plastid compartment. Here, we report that CAO is an intrinsic Rieske iron-sulfur protein of the plastid-envelope inner and thylakoid membranes. Activity measurements revealed that CAO catalyzes chlorophyllide a to chlorophyllide b conversion in vitro and that the enzyme was only slightly active with protochlorophyllide a, the nonreduced precursor of chlorophyllide a. Protein import and organelle fractionation studies identified CAO to be distinct from Ptc52 in the substrate-dependent transport pathway of NADPH:protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase A but instead to be part of a separate translocon complex. This complex was involved in the regulated import and stabilization of the chlorophyllide b-binding light-harvesting proteins Lhcb1 (LHCII) and Lhcb4 (CP29) in chloroplasts. Together, our results provide insights into the plastid subcompartmentalization and evolution of chlorophyll precursor biosynthesis in relation to protein import in higher plants.     

日本血吸虫分泌蛋白和外膜蛋白的原核表达与鉴定

目的 目的 原核表达和鉴定含有编码日本血吸虫分泌蛋白、 外膜蛋白基因的重组质粒, 为高通量筛选日本血吸虫病 疫苗或诊断抗原奠定基础。方法 方法 将前期构建的28个含有分泌蛋白、 外膜蛋白编码基因序列的pET32 （+） 重组质粒通过 化学法转到大肠杆菌 （E. coli） BL21 （DE3） 菌株中进行培养, 加入异丙基?β?D?硫代半乳糖苷 （IPTG） 进行诱导表达。对诱 导表达后的细菌进行超声破壁, 以12% SDS?PAGE分别对菌液、 上清及沉淀进行检测, 判断目的蛋白的大小和表达分布 情况。利用蛋白芯片结合抗His标签荧光抗体对重组融合蛋白表达情况做进一步鉴定。结果 结果 在IPTG终浓度0.1 mmol/L、 37 ℃、 200 r/min和4 h的诱导条件下, 含有编码分泌蛋白、 外膜蛋白序列的重组质粒能够在E. coli BL21 （DE3） 中高效表 达。SDS?PAGE显示28个融合蛋白具有不同程度的表达, 其中2个分布在上清中, 26个分布在沉淀中, 条带大小与预测 大小一致。蛋白芯片成功检测到His抗体荧光信号, 进一步证实了目的蛋白的表达情况。结论 结论 利用E. coli成功表达了 一批编码日本血吸虫分泌蛋白、 外膜蛋白的融合蛋白, 为后续疫苗和免疫诊断研究奠定了基础。     

Lipid Absorption and Intestinal Lipoprotein Formation

Abstract: Lipid absorption and intestinal lipoprotein formation. P. H. R. Green and J. W. Riley, Aust. N.Z. J. Med ., 1981, 11, pp. 84–90.
Lipid absorption is a complex process which involves coordinated gastric, intestinal, biliary and pancreatic function. Emulsification of dietry lipid occurs in the stomach and upper intestine where a series of enzymic events also occur. Phospholipids are digested by phospholipases. Colipase anchors lipase to the emulsion surface overcoming the interfering effect of bile salts. The products of lipolysis, monoglycerides and fatty acids, are removed from the emulsion surface by bile salts in the form of mixed micelles which transport lipid digestive products across the unstirred water layer to the epithelial cell
Within the intestinal epithelial cell a series of synthetic events occur resulting in the formation of chylomicrons and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL). Chylomicrons consists of an oily core of triglyceride surrounded by a membrane of phospholipids, free cholesterol and apoproteins which maintain the solubility of the particle in plasma. Chylomicrons from both experimental animals and man have specific apoproteins associated with them. These proteins include apoA-I, the major protein of plasma high density lipoproteins. During chylomicron metabolism, apoA-I and phospholipid from the chylomicron surface contribute to plasma high density lipoproteins. Other chylomicron apoproteins include apoB and apoA-IV, which are synthesized in the intestine, and apoC and apoE which are absorbed onto the chylomicron surface from other lipoproteins
The intestine also synthesizes, very low density sized particles (VLDL) while fasting and during lipid absorption. There is evidence that the intestine also synthesizes high density lipoproteins
The intestine has recently been recognized as a major site of synthesis of plasma lipoproteins and apoproteins, especially apoA-I for plasma high density lipoproteins     

Chlorophyll biosynthesis and assembly into chlorophyll-protein complexes in isolated developing chloroplasts

Isolated developing plastids from greening cucumber cotyledons or from photoperiodically grown pea seedlings incorporated ¹⁴C-labeled 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) into chlorophyll (Chl). Incorporation was light dependent, enhanced by S-adenosylmethionine, and linear for 1 hr. The in vitro rate of Chl synthesis from ALA was comparable to the in vivo rate of Chl accumulation. Levulinic acid and dioxoheptanoic acid strongly inhibited Chl synthesis but not plastid protein synthesis. Neither chloramphenicol nor spectinomycin affected Chl synthesis, although protein synthesis was strongly inhibited. Components of thylakoid membranes from plastids incubated with [¹⁴C]ALA were resolved by electrophoresis and then subjected to autoradiography. This work showed that (i) newly synthesized Chl was assembled into Chl-protein complexes and (ii) the inhibition of protein synthesis during the incubation did not alter the labeling pattern. Thus, there was no observable short-term coregulation between Chl synthesis (from ALA) and the synthesis of membrane proteins in isolated plastids.     

Chloroplast phosphoproteins: regulation of excitation energy transfer by phosphorylation of thylakoid membrane polypeptides.

Incubation of isolated chloroplast thylakoid membranes with [gamma-32P]ATP results in phosphorylation of surface-exposed segments of several membrane proteins. The incorporation of 32P is light dependent, is blocked by 3(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (diuron, an inhibitor of electron transport), but is insensitive to uncouplers of photophosphorylation. Polypeptides of the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-protein complex are the major phosphorylated membrane proteins. Addition of ATP to isolated chloroplast thylakoid membranes at 20 degrees C results in a time-dependent reduction of chlorophyll fluorescence emission; this is blocked by diuron but not by nigericin. ADP could not substitute for ATP. Chlorophyll fluorescence induction transients showed a decrease in the variable component after incubation of the membranes with ATP. Chlorophyll fluorescence at 77 K of phosphorylated thylakoid membranes showed an increase in long-wavelength emission compared with dephosphorylated controls. We conclude that a membrane-bound protein kinase can phosphorylate surface-exposed segments of the light-harvesting pigment-protein complex, altering the properties of its interaction with the two photosystems such that the distribution of absorbed excitation energy increasingly favors photosystem I.     

A chloroplast homologue of the signal recognition particle subunit SRP54 is involved in the posttranslational integration of a protein into thylakoid membranes.

The mechanisms involved in the integration of proteins into the thylakoid membrane are largely unknown. However, many of the steps of this process for the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein (LHCP) have been described and reconstituted in vitro. LHCP is synthesized as a precursor in the cytosol and posttranslationally imported into chloroplasts. Upon translocation across the envelope membranes, the N-terminal transit peptide is cleaved, and the apoprotein is assembled into a soluble "transit complex" and then integrated into the thylakoid membrane via three transmembrane helices. Here we show that 54CP, a chloroplast homologue of the 54-kDa subunit of the mammalian signal recognition particle (SRP54), is essential for transit complex formation, is present in the complex, and is required for LHCP integration into the thylakoid membrane. Our data indicate that 54CP functions posttranslationally as a molecular chaperone and potentially pilots LHCP to the thylakoids. These results demonstrate that one of several pathways for protein routing to the thylakoids is homologous to the SRP pathway and point to a common evolutionary origin for the protein transport systems of the endoplasmic reticulum and the thylakoid membrane.     

VIPP1, a nuclear gene of Arabidopsis thaliana essential for thylakoid membrane formation

The conversion of light to chemical energy by the process of photosynthesis is localized to the thylakoid membrane network in plant chloroplasts. Although several pathways have been described that target proteins into and across the thylakoids, little is known about the origin of this membrane system or how the lipid backbone of the thylakoids is transported and fused with the target membrane. Thylakoid biogenesis and maintenance seem to involve the flow of membrane elements via vesicular transport. Here we show by mutational analysis that deletion of a single gene called VIPP1 (vesicle-inducing protein in plastids 1) is deleterious to thylakoid membrane formation. Although VIPP1 is a hydrophilic protein it is found in both the inner envelope and the thylakoid membranes. In VIPP1 deletion mutants vesicle formation is abolished. We propose that VIPP1 is essential for the maintenance of thylakoids by a transport pathway not previously recognized.     

Ageing alters the supramolecular architecture of OxPhos complexes in rat brain cortex

Activity and stability of life-supporting proteins are determined not only by their abundance and by post-translational modifications, but also by specific protein–protein interactions. This holds true both for signal-transduction and energy-converting cascades. For vital processes such as life-span control and senescence, to date predominantly age-dependent alterations in abundance and to lesser extent in post-translational modifications of proteins are examined to elucidate the cause of ageing at the molecular level. In mitochondria of rat cortex, we quantified profound changes in the proportion of supramolecular assemblies (supercomplexes) of the respiratory chain complexes I, III₂, IV as well as of the MF_oF₁ ATP synthase (complex V) by 2D-native/SDS electrophoresis and fluorescent staining. Complex I was present solely in supercomplexes and those lacking complex IV were least stable in aged animals (2.4-fold decline). The ATP synthase was confirmed as a prominent target of age-associated degradation by an overall decline in abundance of 1.5-fold for the monomer and an 2.8-fold increase of unbound F₁. Oligomerisation of the ATP synthase increases during ageing and might modulate the cristae architecture. These data could explain the link between ageing and respiratory control as well as ROS generation.     

Localization patterns of plasma apolipoproteins in human atherosclerotic lesions.

The localization patterns of human plasma lipoproteins and their respective apoproteins and of neutral lipid were determined in normal and atherosclerotic arteries. Specific antisera were prepared against plasma low-density lipoproteins(LDL) and their apoproteins (apoB), high-density lipoproteins(HDL) and one of their major apoproteins (apoA-I1, and apoC-III, which is a major apoprotein of very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL). Using immunofluorescence techniques, the various antigens were localized in arterial samples obtained at surgery or autopsy. The three apoproteins and neutral lipid were localized to the same tissue areas, namely, lipid core regions and certain connective tissue of atherosclerotic lesions, in 61% of the fibrous plaques and 48% of the fatty streaks examined. In marked contrast, none of the uninvolved arterial regions showed the presence of all four factors together. As controls, the localization of other serum proteins was also determined in these arteries using immunofluorescence techniques. Fibrinogen was associated with regions of maximum complementary localization of factors in 37% of the fibrous plaques and 64% of the fatty streaks. However, albumin was found in only 4-5% of these same regions. The present results suggest that not only LDL but also HDL and VLDL or their respective apoproteins as well as fibrinogen are specifically retained by certain tissue components of the atherosclerotic lesion.     

Cooperative regulation of light-harvesting complex II phosphorylation via the plastoquinol and ferredoxin-thioredoxin system in chloroplasts

Light induces phosphorylation of photosystem II (PSII) proteins in chloroplasts by activating the protein kinase(s) via reduction of plastoquinone and the cytochrome b(6)f complex. The recent finding of high-light-induced inactivation of the phosphorylation of chlorophyll a/b-binding proteins (LHCII) of the PSII antenna in floated leaf discs, but not in vitro, disclosed a second regulatory mechanism for LHCII phosphorylation. Here we show that this regulation of LHCII phosphorylation is likely to be mediated by the chloroplast ferredoxin-thioredoxin system. We present a cooperative model for the function of the two regulation mechanisms that determine the phosphorylation level of the LHCII proteins in vivo, based on the following results: (i) Chloroplast thioredoxins f and m efficiently inhibit LHCII phosphorylation. (ii) A disulfide bond in the LHCII kinase, rather than in its substrate, may be a target component regulated by thioredoxin. (iii) The target disulfide bond in inactive LHCII kinase from dark-adapted leaves is exposed and easily reduced by external thiol mediators, whereas in the activated LHCII kinase the regulatory disulfide bond is hidden. This finding suggests that the activation of the kinase induces a conformational change in the enzyme. The active state of LHCII kinase prevails in chloroplasts under low-light conditions, inducing maximal phosphorylation of LHCII proteins in vivo. (iv) Upon high-light illumination of leaves, the target disulfide bond becomes exposed and thus is made available for reduction by thioredoxin, resulting in a stable inactivation of LHCII kinase.     

Unsaturation of the membrane lipids of chloroplasts stabilizes the photosynthetic machinery against low-temperature photoinhibition in transgenic tobacco plants.

Using tobacco plants that had been transformed with the cDNA for glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase, we have demonstrated that chilling tolerance is affected by the levels of unsaturated membrane lipids. In the present study, we examined the effects of the transformation of tobacco plants with cDNA for glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase from squash on the unsaturation of fatty acids in thylakoid membrane lipids and the response of photosynthesis to various temperatures. Of the four major lipid classes isolated from the thylakoid membranes, phosphatidylglycerol showed the most conspicuous decrease in the level of unsaturation in the transformed plants. The isolated thylakoid membranes from wild-type and transgenic plants did not significantly differ from each other in terms of the sensitivity of photosystem II to high and low temperatures and also to photoinhibition. However, leaves of the transformed plants were more sensitive to photoinhibition than those of wild-type plants. Moreover, the recovery of photosynthesis from photoinhibition in leaves of wild-type plants was faster than that in leaves of the transgenic tobacco plants. These results suggest that unsaturation of fatty acids of phosphatidylglycerol in thylakoid membranes stabilizes the photosynthetic machinery against low-temperature photoinhibition by accelerating the recovery of the photosystem II protein complex.