Abstract
The photosystem II core complex (PSIIcc) is a complicated membrane protein occurring in oxygenic photosynthetic organisms that catalyzes a key reaction, the light-induced oxidation of water. It consists of 17 membrane-spanning α-helical and three membrane-extrinsic protein subunits and binds nearly 100 cofactors. Among them is a heme protein composed of one heme b group ligated by two low molecular weight subunits with one transmembrane helix each, referred to as cytochrome (cyt) b559. Despite extensive research, the role of cyt b559 in PSIIcc is still not known. In the present chapter, the structure of cyt b559 is reviewed based on recent crystallographic work together with its unusually complex redox behavior, and some ideas are discussed concerning a possible function of this unique heme protein.
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