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Researchers at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (along with collaborators from Sweden, Germany and the UK) shed new light final stage of photosynthesis. They observed in atomic detail how photosystem II, a protein complex found in plants, undergoes transformations that lead to the loss of extra oxygen atoms. Scientists believe the discovery will help provide a roadmap for optimizing clean energy sources. “It will really change the way we think about photosystem II,” says Uwe Bergmann, a co-author of the paper and a scientist and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The researchers took “very high-resolution images” of different stages of the process (at room temperature), giving new insights into how and where specifically oxygen is produced. Baseball can provide a simple (albeit somewhat forced) metaphor to describe the process. “The center cycles through four stable oxidation states known as S0 to S3 when exposed to sunlight,” he explains SLAC. “In a baseball field, S0 is the start of the game when the home base player is ready to go to bat. S1-S3 would be the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd players.” This metaphor. Based on , contact by the batter and advancing the runner means that the composite absorbs photons of sunlight. “When the fourth ball is hit, the player slides home and scores a run or, in the case of photosystem II, releases one molecule of breathable oxygen.” is the final stage (S4, between third base and sliding home in our metaphor) where two oxygen atoms combine to release an oxygen molecule, revealing an additional step not seen before. rice field.
The video below shows the team’s process and findings.
“Most of the process of producing breathable oxygen occurs in this last step,” said Vittal Yachandra, a Berkeley Lab scientist and co-author of the paper. was announced in Nature“But there are several things going on in different parts of photosystem II, and they all have to come together in the end for the reaction to be successful. Like baseball, the ball’s Factors such as position and the position of basemen and fielders influence the movements players take to reach home plate, and the protein environment around the catalytic center influences how this reaction unfolds.
Researchers expect an X-ray upgrade later this year to reveal more of this process. In this experiment he uses repetition rates from 120 pulses per second up to 1 million pulses per second. “With these upgrades, we will be able to collect days’ worth of data in just a few hours,” Bergmann said. “We can also use soft x-rays to better understand the chemical changes taking place in the system. These new capabilities will continue to advance this research and shed new light on photosynthesis.” .”
The team believes the results will help “develop artificial photosynthetic systems that mimic photosynthesis to harvest natural sunlight and convert carbon dioxide into hydrogen and carbon-based fuels.” Another co-author and Berkeley Lab scientist Jan Kahn said: sustainable energy source. ”
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