Excited states, electron-transfer reactions, and intermediates in bacterial photosynthetic reaction centers
- Stanford Univ., CA (USA)
The three-dimensional structure of a photosynthetic reaction center has recently been obtained at atomic resolution using x-ray crystallography by Deisenhofer, Epp, Miki, Huber, and Michel (J. Mol. Biol. 1984, 180, 385-398; Nature 1985, 318, 618-624). This breakthrough provides the fundamental structural information needed to understand the mechanisms of the initial energy- and electron-transfer steps in photosynthesis. The structure reveals the distances among the reactive bacteriochlorophylls and quinones as well as the location of all nearby solvent molecules, the amino acids of the reaction center protein. Thus, the reaction center provides a complex but well-defined solid-state reactive system for the study of fundamental physical and chemical processes with implications and applications well beyond this specific system. We review recent studies of the reaction intermediates and mechanism of electron transfer in which the energetics and reaction dynamics have been perturbed with external electric and magnetic fields. Electron-transfer mechanisms which have been proposed are reviewed critically in light of the available data, and electron transfer in the reaction center is compared with electron transfer in other biological and nonbiological systems.
- OSTI ID:
- 6716373
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Physical Chemistry; (USA), Vol. 93:26; ISSN 0022-3654
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
PHOTOSYNTHETIC REACTION CENTERS
ELECTRON TRANSFER
EXCITED STATES
BACTERIA
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
DATA ANALYSIS
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
REACTION INTERMEDIATES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
ENERGY LEVELS
MICROORGANISMS
PHOTOCHEMICAL REACTIONS
SYNTHESIS
400500* - Photochemistry
550500 - Metabolism