Properties of a cytochrome c-enriched light particulate fraction isolated from the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas spheroides

Differential centrifugation of suspensions of French-press-disrupted Rhodopseudomonas spheroides yielded a light particulate fraction that was different in many properties from the bulk membrane fraction. It was enriched in cytochrome c and had a low cytochrome b content. When prepared from photosynthetically grown cells this fraction had a very low specific bacteriochlorophyll content. The cytochrome c of the light particles differed in absorption maxima at 77K from cytochrome c2 attached to membranes; there was pronounced splitting of the alpha-band, as is found in cytochrome c2 free in solution. Potentiometric titration at A552–A540 showed the presence of two components that fitted an n = 1 titration; one component had a midpoint redox potential of +345mV, like cytochrome c2 in solution, and the second had E0′ at pH 7.0 of +110 mV, and they were present in a ratio of approx. 2:3. Difference spectroscopy at 77K showed that the spectra of the two components were very similar. More of a CO-binding component was present in particles from photosynthetically grown cells. Light membranes purified by centrifugation on gradients of 5–60% (w/w) sucrose retained the two c cytochromes; they contained no detectable succinate-cytochrome c reductase or bacteriochlorophyll and very little ubiquinone, but they contained NADH-cytochrome c reductase and some phosphate. Electrophoresis on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide gels showed that the light membranes of aerobically and photosynthetically grown cells were very similar and differed greatly from other membrane fractions of R. spheroides.