Ubiquinone reduction in the photosynthetic reaction centre of Rhodobacter sphaeroides: interplay between electron transfer, proton binding and flips of the quinone ring

This review is focused on reactions that gate (control) the electron transfer between the primary quinone Q(A) and secondary quinone Q(B) in the photosynthetic reaction centre of Rhodobacter sphaeroides. The results on electron and proton transfer are discussed in relation to structural information and to the steered molecular dynamics simulations of the Q(B) ring flip in its binding pocket. Depending on the initial position of Q(B) in the pocket and on certain conditions, the rate of electron transfer is suggested to be limited either by the quinone ring flip or by the charge-compensating proton equilibration between the surface and the buried Q(B) site.