Functional Roles of D2-Lys317 and the Interacting Chloride Ion in the Water Oxidation Reaction of Photosystem II As Revealed by Fourier Transform Infrared Analysis

[Image: see text] Photosynthetic water oxidation in plants and cyanobacteria is catalyzed by a Mn(4)CaO(5) cluster within the photosystem II (PSII) protein complex. Two Cl(–) ions bound near the Mn(4)CaO(5) cluster act as indispensable cofactors, but their functional roles remain to be clarified. We have investigated the role of the Cl(–) ion interacting with D2-K317 (designated Cl-1) by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis of the D2-K317R mutant of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 in combination with Cl(–)/NO(3)(–) replacement. The D2-K317R mutation perturbed the bands in the regions of the COO(–) stretching and backbone amide vibrations in the FTIR difference spectrum upon the S(1) → S(2) transition. In addition, this mutation altered the (15)N isotope-edited NO(3)(–) bands in the spectrum of NO(3)(–)-treated PSII. These results provide the first experimental evidence that the Cl-1 site is coupled with the Mn(4)CaO(5) cluster and its interaction is affected by the S(1) → S(2) transition. It was also shown that a negative band at 1748 cm(–1) arising from COOH group(s) was altered to a positive intensity by the D2-K317R mutation as well as by NO(3)(–) treatment, suggesting that the Cl-1 site affects the pK(a) of COOH/COO(–) group(s) near the Mn(4)CaO(5) cluster in a common hydrogen bond network. Together with the observation that the efficiency of the S(3) → S(0) transition significantly decreased in the core complexes of D2-K317R upon moderate dehydration, it is suggested that D2-K317 and Cl-1 are involved in a proton transfer pathway from the Mn(4)CaO(5) cluster to the lumen, which functions in the S(3) → S(0) transition.