Structural basis of photosynthetic water-splitting

Journal Article · Tue Dec 10 00:00:00 EST 2013 · AIP Conference Proceedings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4848085· OSTI ID:22261736

Shen, Jian-Ren ^[1]; Umena, Yasufumi ^[2]; Kawakami, Keisuke ^[3]; Kamiya, Nobuo ^[4]

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1. Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology/Faculty of Science, Okayama University, Okayama (Japan)
2. The OCU Advanced Research Institute for Natural Science and Technology (OCARINA), Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan and PRESTO, JST (Japan)
3. The OCU Advanced Research Institute for Natural Science and Technology (OCARINA), Osaka City University, Osaka (Japan)
4. The OCU Advanced Research Institute for Natural Science and Technology (OCARINA), Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan and Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Osaka (Japan)

Photosynthetic water-splitting takes place in photosystem II (PSII), a membrane protein complex consisting of 20 subunits with an overall molecular mass of 350 kDa. The light-induced water-splitting reaction catalyzed by PSII not only converts light energy into biologically useful chemical energy, but also provides us with oxygen indispensible for sustaining oxygenic life on the earth. We have solved the structure of PSII at a 1.9 Å resolution, from which, the detailed structure of the Mn{sub 4}CaO{sub 5}-cluster, the catalytic center for water-splitting, became clear. Based on the structure of PSII at the atomic resolution, possible mechanism of light-induced water-splitting was discussed.

• OSTI ID: 22261736
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1568, Issue 1; Conference: International workshop on solar-chemical energy storage (SolChES), Sendai (Japan), 23-28 Jul 2012; Other Information: (c) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
MEMBRANE PROTEINS
OXYGEN
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
WATER