Evolution of the Z-scheme of electron transport in oxygenic photosynthesis

Abstract

We start with the discussion of the photosynthetic unit, based on the experiments of Emerson and Arnold (1932a, 1932b), continue with the first two-quantum proposal by Rabinowitch (1945, 1956), Emerson’s Red drop (1943) and Emerson Enhancement Effect (1957) and various action spectra made for understanding the roles of the photosynthetic pigments. The experimental work of Kok (1959) and the theoretical model by Hill and Bendall (1960) were followed soon thereafter by the seminal papers of Duysens et al. (1961) and Duysens and Amesz (1962), in which the two photosystems were shown to be connected, in series, by cytochrome, which can be photooxidized by photo system I and photoreduced by photosystem II. Further, Witt et al. (1961) and others, cited in this paper, made refinement of the Z-scheme.