Cytochrome f function in photosynthetic electron transport.

The questions of whether the stoichiometry of the turnover of cytochrome f, and the time-course of its reduction subsequent to a light flash, are consistent with efficient function in noncyclic electron transport have been investigated. Measurements were made of the absorbance change at the 553-nm alpha-band maximum relative to a reference wavelength. In the dark cytochrome f is initially fully reduced, oxidized by a 0.3-s flash, and reduced again in the dark period after the flash. In the presence of gramicidin at 18 degrees C, the dark reduction was characterized by a half-time of 25-30 ms, stoichiometries of cytochrome f:chlorophyll and P700:chlorophyll of 1:670 and 1:640, respectively, and a short time delay. The time delay in the dark reduction of cytochrome f, which is expected for a component in an intermediate position in the chain, becomes more apparent in the presence of valinomycin and K+. Under these conditions the half-time for cytochrome f dark reduction is 130-150 ms, and the delay is approximately equal to 20 ms. The measured value for the activation energy of the dark reduction of cytochrome f (11 +/- 1 kcal/mol) is the same as that for noncyclic electron transport in steady-state light. A sigmoidal time-course for the reduction of cytochrome f has been calculated for a simple linear electron transport chain. The kinetics for reduction of cytochrome f predicted by the calculation, in the presence of valinomycin and K+, are in reasonably good agreement with the experimental data. There is an appreciable amount of data in the literature to document complex properties of cytochrome f after illumination with short flashes, and evidence for complexity in a light-minus-dark transition. The data presented here, obtained after a long flash that should establish steady-state conditions, either fulfill or are consistent with the basic criteria for efficient function of cytochrome f in noncyclic electron transport.