Update on PhotosystemIIComplex

Abstract

Photosystem II (PSII) is a multisubunit membrane protein that plays a central role in oxygenic photosynthesis in plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. Ever since the structure of cyanobacterial PSII was solved at close to atomic resolution in 2011, with the details of the Mn 4 CaO 5 cluster (WOC, water‐oxidation complex, or OEC, oxygen‐evolving complex), more detailed structural and spectroscopic studies together with the theoretical interpretations are emerging slowly. Yet, there are outstanding questions of its functions, which include its water‐oxidation mechanism catalyzed by the Mn 4 CaO 5 cluster and the assembly mechanism of PSII. In this article, we give an update of the current knowledge of PSII, mainly regarding its structure, channels, and repair mechanism, and other related details.