Abstract: Washing spinach PSII oxygen-evolution complex (OEC) with 2 mmol/L EGTA or extraction medium caused a 28.4% and 25.0% loss of oxygen evolution activities respectively, but the loss of polypeptide components of OEC did not take place, whereas washing with 1 mol/L NaCI caused both a 90.0% loss of oxygen evolution activity and loss of 17, 23kD polypeptides. Adding 5–10 mmol/L CaC12 could restore oxygen evolution activities of OEC by various washing to a great extent, but had no effect on control OEC, whereas adding 5–10 mmol/L EGTA had no effect on the OEC by various' washing, but caused the loss of oxygen evolution mixtures, which could induce the release of of 17, 23kD polypeptides from OEC, caused 54.3% loss of oxygen evolution activity, under this circumstance, adding 2 mmol/L of EGTA could only maintain a weak oxygen evolution activity of OEC, but adding 10 mmol/L of CaCl2 could restore oxygen evolution activity of OEC to the control level. These findings' suggest a two way loose binding of Ga2+ to PSⅡ OEC in one way Ca2+ is loose bound to the surface of PSⅡOEC and in other, the Ca2+-binding site is wrapped by 17, 23kD polypeptides. Both of them have effect on oxygen evolution activity of PSⅡ OEC. By way, Mn2+ can antagonize the restoration of oxygen evolution activity by Ca2+ to the NaCl-washing PSⅡ OEC.

Key words: CA2+, PSⅡ oxygen-evolution comlex, Ca2+ binding state, Oxygen evolution Activity