光生物催化反应:从单个组成部分到三重组成部分

Reaction centers are pigment-protein complexes that initiate energy conversion from photons to chemical entities. Therefore, photochemical reaction center is a more appropriate term that describes these complexes. The Nobel laureates Robert Emerson and William Arnold provided the first experimental evidence of photochemical reaction centers by demonstrating the participation of nearly 2,500 chlorophyll molecules for the release of just one molecule of oxygen. Despite thousands of photosynthetic...

Plants and other photosynthetic organisms comprise pigments capable of absorption of direct sunlight. These pigments are present in the reaction center - the main site of photochemical reactions as well as in the antenna complex. Under average light conditions, the rate at which reaction center pigments absorb light is far below the electron transport chain's capacity. As a result, the reaction center alone cannot provide enough energy to drive photosynthesis. The photosynthetic efficiency...

The light reactions of photosynthesis assume a linear flow of electrons from water to NADP+. During this process, light energy drives the splitting of water molecules to produce oxygen. However, oxidation of water molecules is a thermodynamically unfavorable reaction and requires a strong oxidizing agent. This is accomplished by the first product of light reactions: oxidized P680 (or P680+), the most powerful oxidizing agent known in biology. The oxidized P680 that acquires an electron from the...

Electrocyclic reactions are reversible reactions. They involve an intramolecular cyclization or ring-opening of a conjugated polyene. Shown below are two examples of electrocyclic reactions. In the first reaction, the formation of the cyclic product is favored. In contrast, in the second reaction, ring-opening is favored due to the high ring strain associated with cyclobutene formation.