Abstract
Photosystem II (PSII) is a membrane‐spanning, multi‐subunit pigment–protein complex responsible for the oxidation of water and the reduction of plastoquinone in oxygenic photosynthesis. In the present review, the recent explosive increase in available structural information about the PSII core complex based on X‐ray crystallography and cryo‐electron microscopy is described at a level of detail that is suitable for a future structure‐based analysis of light‐harvesting processes. This description includes a proposal for a consistent numbering scheme of protein‐bound pigment cofactors across species. The structural survey is complemented by an overview of the state of affairs in structure‐based modeling of excitation energy transfer in the PSII core complex with emphasis on electrostatic computations, optical properties of the reaction center, the assignment of long‐wavelength chlorophylls, and energy trapping mechanisms.
Highlights
| INTRODUCTIONMany organisms use solar energy in a very efficient way, and it is of great interest to understand, how they can achieve this.[1,2,3,4] Cyanobacteria, algae, and plants carry out oxygenic photosynthesis.[5,6,7] In this variant, two lightpowered molecular machines[8,9] known as photosystem I (PSI)[10,11] and photosystem II (PSII)[12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19] operate in series to transfer electrons from water to nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH in its reduced form) and to produce adenosine triphosphate
We focus on the photosystem II core complex (PSIIcc) containing the reaction center (RC) and the two core antennae known as CP43 and CP47
During the last 12 years, a remarkable progress has been made in elucidating the structure of PSII and its core complex
Summary
Many organisms use solar energy in a very efficient way, and it is of great interest to understand, how they can achieve this.[1,2,3,4] Cyanobacteria, algae, and plants carry out oxygenic photosynthesis.[5,6,7] In this variant, two lightpowered molecular machines[8,9] known as photosystem I (PSI)[10,11] and photosystem II (PSII)[12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19] operate in series to transfer electrons from water to nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH in its reduced form) and to produce adenosine triphosphate Both these molecules are required to transform carbon dioxide (CO2) into biomass.[1,6,20,21]. Subunit composition of PSIIccb M, O, T, U, V, Z, X1e, X2e, X3e M, O, T, U, V, X, Ye, Z, 30 M, O, T, U, V, X, Z, 30 M, O, T, U, V, X, Yi, Z, 30 M, O, T, U, V, X, Y, Z, 30 M, O, T, U, V, X, Yi, Z, 30 M, O, T, U, V, X, Yi, Z, 30 M, O, Ql, T, U, V, We, X, Zl, 30, 34e M, O, T, U, V, X, Y, Z, 30 M, O, T, U, V, X, Y, Z, 30 M, O, T, U, V, X, Y, Z, 30 M, O, T, U, V, X, Z, 30 M, O, T, U, V, X, Z, 30 M, O, T, U, V, X, Yi, Z, 30 M, O, T, U, V, X, Yi, Z, 30 M, O, T, U, V, X, Yi, Z, 30 M, O, T, U, V, X, Yi, Z, 30 O, T, U, V, X, Z, 30 M, O, T, U, V, X, Y, Z, 30 M, O, T, U, V, X, Z, 30 M, O, P, Q, T, W, X, Z M, O, T, U, V, X, Z, 30 M, O, T, U, V, X, Y, Z, 30 M, O, T, U, V, X, Y, Z, 30 M, O, T, U, V, X, Y, Z, 30 M, O, T, U, V, X, Y, Z, 30
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call