REVIEW: Structural and Functional Aspects of Electron Transport Thermoregulation and ATP Synthesis in Chloroplasts

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Alexey V. Vershubskii¹ and Alexander N. Tikhonov^1,a*

¹Faculty of Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received October 28, 2020; Revised November 29, 2020; Accepted December 5, 2020

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The review is focused on analysis of the mechanisms of temperature-dependent regulation of electron transport and ATP synthesis in chloroplasts of higher plants. Importance of photosynthesis thermoregulation is determined by the fact that plants are ectothermic organisms, whose own temperature depends on the ambient temperature. The review discusses the effects of temperature on the following processes in thylakoid membranes: (i) photosystem 2 activity and plastoquinone reduction; (ii) electron transfer from plastoquinol (via the cytochrome b₆f complex and plastocyanin) to photosystem 1; (iii) transmembrane proton transfer; and (iv) ATP synthesis. The data on the relationship between the functional properties of chloroplasts (photosynthetic transfer of electrons and protons, functioning of ATP synthase) and structural characteristics of membrane lipids (fluidity) obtained by electron paramagnetic resonance studies are presented.

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KEY WORDS: photosynthesis, chloroplasts, electron transport, thylakoid membranes, temperature-dependent regulation

DOI: 10.1134/S0006297921010090

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