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Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences logoLink to Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
. 2002 Oct 29;357(1426):1369–1420. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2002.1134

Photosystem II and photosynthetic oxidation of water: an overview.

Charilaos Goussias 1, Alain Boussac 1, A William Rutherford 1
PMCID: PMC1693055  PMID: 12437876

Abstract

Conceptually, photosystem II, the oxygen-evolving enzyme, can be divided into two parts: the photochemical part and the catalytic part. The photochemical part contains the ultra-fast and ultra-efficient light-induced charge separation and stabilization steps that occur when light is absorbed by chlorophyll. The catalytic part, where water is oxidized, involves a cluster of Mn ions close to a redox-active tyrosine residue. Our current understanding of the catalytic mechanism is mainly based on spectroscopic studies. Here, we present an overview of the current state of knowledge of photosystem II, attempting to delineate the open questions and the directions of current research.

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Selected References

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