Cation-dependent changes in the thylakoid membrane appression of the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana

Diatoms show a special organisation of their plastid membranes, such that their thylakoids span the entire plastid in bands of three. While in higher plants the interaction of the light harvesting complex II and photosystem II with divalent cations (especially Mg2+) was found to take part in the interplay of electrostatic attraction and repulsion in grana membrane appression, for diatoms the key players in maintaining proper membrane distances...