Direct evidence for requirement of phosphatidylglycerol in photosystem II of photosynthesis

Phosphatidylglycerol (PG) is considered to play an important role in the ordered assembly and structural maintenance of the photosynthetic apparatus in thylakoid membranes. However, its function in photosynthesis remains poorly understood. In this study we have identified a pgsA gene of Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 that encodes a PG phosphate synthase involved in the biosynthesis of PG. A disruption of the pgsA gene allowed us to manipulate the content of PG in thylakoid membranes and to investigate the function of PG in photosynthesis. The obtained pgsA mutant could grow only in the medium containing PG, and the photosynthetic activity of the pgsA mutant dramatically decreased with a concomitant decrease of PG content in thylakoid membranes when the cells grown in the presence of PG were transferred to the medium without PG. This decrease of photosynthetic activity was attributed to the decrease of photosystem (PS)II activity, but not to the decrease in PSI activity. These findings demonstrate that PG is essential for growth of Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 and provide the first direct evidence that PG plays an important role in PSII.