Isolation of Photosystem II Reaction Center Complexes From Plants

Methods to isolate and purify 6- and 5-chlorophyll (Chl) D1/D2/Cyt b ₅₅₉ photosystem (PS) II reaction center complexes from plants are presented, and the advantages and disadvantages of each procedure are discussed. One of the simpler 6-Chl procedures and a procedure for isolating 5-Chl complexes are described in detail. Furthermore, a rapid procedure that produces relatively large amounts of less pure 6-Chl material is also described. Criteria to assess the purity of photosystem II (PSII) reaction center preparations are presented, and problems associated with each of the isolation procedures are discussed.