Evolution and unique bioenergetic mechanisms in oxygenic photosynthesis

Oxygenic photosynthesis is one example of the many bioenergetic pathways utilized by different organisms to harvest energy from the environment. These pathways revolve around a theme of coupling oxidation–reduction reactions to the formation of membrane potential and subsequent ATP synthesis. Although the basic principles underlying bioenergetics are universally conserved, the constituents of the bioenergetic pathways in different organisms have evolved unique aspects to fill an evolutionary niche. Three-dimensional structures of all of the membrane-spanning components of the electron-transfer chain of oxygenic photosynthesis have revealed those unique aspects of this fascinating process, including the unique metallocofactor for catalysis, the determinants of the uniquely high voltage cofactor, and the numerous photoprotective mechanisms that guard against radical damage.