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Structural biology

Dual approach to a light problem

Nature volume 426, pages 399–400 (2003)Cite this article

The structure of the last of the major pigment-containing protein complexes involved in photosynthesis is now revealed. The details complete our picture of electron shuttling in this vital process.

It is not uncommon for notable scientific progress to be made simultaneously by two independent teams of researchers. The latest example concerns the long-awaited structure of the cytochrome b6f complex, described by Stroebel et al. on page 413 of this issue1 and by Kurisu et al. in Science2. Cytochrome b6f mediates the flow of electrons between photosystems II and I in the photosynthetic membranes of plants and cyanobacteria. It is the last of these large, pigment-containing protein complexes to yield to detailed crystallographic analysis, and the structures offer some surprising insights into how it works.

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Figure 1: Electron transport in oxygenic photosynthesis.
Figure 2: Electron-transfer routes in the cytochrome b6f complex, incorporating the new findings1,2.

References

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  1. the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Marie-Curie-Strasse 15, Frankfurt am Main, D-60439, Germany

    Werner Kühlbrandt

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  1. Werner Kühlbrandt
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Kühlbrandt, W. Dual approach to a light problem. Nature 426, 399–400 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/426399a

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