Temperature‐induced reversible migration along the thylakoid membrane of photosystem II regulates it association with LHC‐II

Subfractionation of chloroplast thylakoids at elevated temperatures shows that above 35°C the photosystem II core and some of its light‐harvesting complex (LHC‐II) migrates laterally from the appressed thylakoid regions out to the non‐appressed regions, leaving behind free LHC‐II in the appressions. These structural rearrangements of the thylakoid membrane are largely reversible upon lowering the temperature and may play a physiological role in preventing overexcitation of photosystem II under high light intensities which normally induce elevated leaf temperatures.