Properties of a Non-Detergent PS II Membrane Preparation

Abstract

Preparation of photosystem (PS) II enriched membrane vesicles is of great interest in order to study the function of PS II in a form which resembles the situation in vivo. PS II particles, originating from the appressed regions of the thylakoid, can be obtained by treatment with the detergent Triton X-100 (1). The suspicion that the detergent could solubilize some components originally present in this membrane region suggests the search for alternative preparations. PS II preparations using mechanical disintegration procedures e.g. inside-out vesicles (2) have the drawback of relatively high content of PS I, presumably originating from the non-appressed regions of the thylakoid membrane.