PSII
is the membrane protein complex found in oxygenic photosynthetic
organisms (higher plants, green algae and cyanobacteria), which
harnesses light energy to split H2O into
O2, protons and electrons. It drives one
of the most oxidising reactions known to occur in nature and is
responsible for the production of atmospheric oxygen, essential
for aerobic life on this planet. Isn addition, by catalysing the
first step of the photosynthetic electron transport chain, PSII
is also involved in the production of a substantial proportion of
the global biomass. A more detailed description may be found here.
View
of the higher plant PSII-LHCII complex (based on
a single reaction centre)
[See
also subunit text descriptions here]
|