RuBisCO - Structure

Structure

In plants, algae, cyanobacteria, and phototrophic and chemoautotrophic proteobacteria, the enzyme usually consists of two types of protein subunit, called the large chain (L, about 55,000 Da) and the small chain (S, about 13,000 Da). The large-chain gene is part of the chloroplast DNA molecule in plants. There are typically several related small-chain genes in the nucleus of plant cells, and the small chains are imported to the stromal compartment of chloroplasts from the cytosol by crossing the outer chloroplast membrane. The enzymatically active substrate (ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate) binding sites are located in the large chains that form dimers as shown in Figure 1 (above, right) in which amino acids from each large chain contribute to the binding sites. A total of eight large-chains (= 4 dimers) and eight small chains assemble into a larger complex of about 540,000 Da. In some proteobacteria and dinoflagellates, enzymes consisting of only large subunits have been found.

Magnesium ions (Mg2+) are needed for enzymatic activity. Correct positioning of Mg2+ in the active site of the enzyme involves addition of an "activating" carbon dioxide molecule (CO₂) to a lysine in the active site (forming a carbamate). Formation of the carbamate is favored by an alkaline pH. The pH and the concentration of magnesium ions in the fluid compartment (in plants, the stroma of the chloroplast) increases in the light. The role of changing pH and magnesium ion levels in the regulation of RuBisCO enzyme activity is discussed below.