Determination of PS I oligomerisation in various cyanobacterial strains and mutants by non-invasive methods

PSI trimer to monomer ratio in intact cyanobacterial cells and isolated thylakoids was analysed by two noninvasive, in vivo methods; low-temperature fluorescence emission and circular dichroism spectroscopy. We measured fluorescence emission spectra of cells upon chlorophyll (Chl, 436 nm) excitation. All three species – Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, Anabaena sp. PCC 7120, and Spirulina platensis – showed shifted Chl peak, indicating they have different spectral properties. CD spectroscopy revealed the highest intensity at 515 nm (PSI peak) in Spirulina platensis cells, which may originate from PSI multi-oligomerisation. The most sensitive response to heat treatment in this strain was the oligomerisation of PSI RCs. PSI dimers and tetramers in Anabaena cells showed smaller changes of the CD signal upon the heat treatment compared to that of Synechocystis WT. The lack of γ-linolenic acid affected the filament morphology by the loss of the spiral shape and the PSI monomerisation in Spirulina I22 .