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]
|