Light-Harvesting Chlorophyll a/b Protein

The apoprotein of the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein (LHCP) is a major integral thylakoid membrane protein that is normally complexed with chlorophyll and xanthophylls and serves as the antenna complex of photosystem II. LHCP is encoded in the nucleus and synthesized in the cytosol as a higher molecular weight precursor that is subsequently imported into chloroplasts and assembled into thylakoids. In a previous study it was established that the LHCP precursor can integrate into isolated thylakoid membranes. The present study demonstrates that under conditions designed to preserve thylakoid structure, the inserted LHCP precursor is processed to mature size, assembled into the LHC II chlorophyll-protein complex, and localized to the appressed thylakoid membranes. Under these conditions, light can partially replace exogenous ATP in the membrane integration process.