Molecular recognition in thylakoid structure and function.

In photosynthesis, light-harvesting chlorophyll molecules are shunted between photosystems by phosphorylation of the protein to which they are bound. An anchor for the phosphorylated chlorophyll-protein complex has now been identified in the reaction centre of chloroplast photosystem I. This finding supports the idea that molecular recognition, not membrane surface charge, governs the architecture of the chloroplast thylakoid membrane. We describe a model for the chloroplast thylakoid membrane that is consistent with recent structural data that specify the relative dimensions of intrinsic protein complexes and their dispositions within the membrane. Control of molecular recognition accommodates membrane stacking, lateral heterogeneity and regulation of light-harvesting function by means of protein phosphorylation during state transitions--adaptations that compensate for selective excitation of photosystem I or photosystem II. High-resolution structural description of membrane protein-protein interactions is now required to understand thylakoid structure and regulation of photosynthesis.