New experimental approach to the estimation of rate of electron transfer from the primary to secondary acceptors in the photosynthetic electron transport chain of purple bacteria.

A method for calculating the rate constant (KA1A2) for the oxidation of the primary electron acceptor (A1) by the secondary one (A2) in the photosynthetic electron transport chain of purple bacteria is proposed. The method is based on the analysis of the dark recovery kinetics of reaction centre bacteriochlorophyll (P) following its oxidation by a short single laser pulse at a high oxidation-reduction potential of the medium. It is shown that in Ectothiorhodospira shaposhnikovii there is little difference in the value of KA1A2 obtained by this method from that measured by the method of Parson ((1969) Biochim, Biophys. Acta 189, 384-396), namely: (4.5 +/- 1.4)-10(3) s-1 and (6.9 +/- 1.2)-10(3) s-1, respectively. The proposed method has also been used for the estimation of the KA1A2 value in chromatophores of Rhodospirillum rubrum deprived of constitutive electron donors which are capable of reducing P+ at a rate exceeding this for the transfer of electron from A1 to A2. The method of Parson cannot be used in this case. The value of KA1A2 has been found to be (2.7 +/- 0.8)-10(3) s-1. The activation energies for the A1 to A2 electron transfer have also been determined. They are 12.4 kcal/mol and 9.9 kcal/mol for E. shaposhnikovii and R. rubrum, respectively.