The role of chloride ion in photosystem II. I. Effects of chloride ion on photosystem II electron transport and on hydroxylamine inhibition.

1. Chloroplasts washed with Cl--free, low-salt media (pH 8) containing EDTA, show virtually no DCMU-insensitive silicomolybdate reduction. The activity is readily restored when 10 mM Cl- is added to the reaction mixture. Very similar results were obtained with the other Photosystem II electron acceptor 2,5-dimethylquinone (with dibromothymoquinone), with the Photosystem I electron acceptor FMN, and also with ferricyanide which accepts electrons from both photosystems. 2. Strong Cl--dependence of Hill activity was observed invariably at all pH values tested (5.5--8.3) and in chloroplasts from three different plants: spinach, tobacco and corn (mesophyll). 3. In the absence of added Cl- the functionally Cl--depleted chloroplasts are able to oxidize, through Photosystem II, artificial reductants such as catechol, diphenylcarbazide, ascorbate and H2O2 at rates which are 4--12 times faster than the rate of the residual Hill reaction. 4. The Cl--concentration dependence of Hill activity with dimethylquinone as an electron acceptor is kinetically consistent with the typical enzyme activation mechanism: E(inactive) + Cl- in equilibrium E . Cl- (active), and the apparent activation constant (0.9 mM at pH 7.2) is unchanged by chloroplast fragmentation. 5. The initial phase of the development of inhibition of water oxidation in Cl--depleted chloroplasts during the dark incubation with NH2OH (1/2 H2SO4) is 5 times slower when the incubation medium contains Cl- than when the medium contains NH2OH alone or NH2OH plus acetate ion. (Acetate is shown to be ineffective in stimulating O2 evolution).