Photosystems I and II in 3-D

Data derived from the Science Watch/Hot Papers database and the Web of Science (ISI, Philadelphia) show that Hot Papers are cited 50 to 100 times more often than the average paper of the same type and age. P. Jordan et al., "Three-dimensional structure of cyanobacterial photosystem I at 2.5 angstrom resolution," Nature, 411:909-17, 2001. (cited in 176 papers) A. Zouni et al., "Crystal structure of photosystem II from Synechococcus elongatus at 3.8 angstrom resolution," Nature, 409:739-43, 2001.

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At the heart of photosynthesis, photosystems I and II hold a special place, not just in plant biology, but also as the source of oxygen for all aerobic life. Therefore, researchers were not surprised when two papers, describing the detailed, three-dimensional crystal structure of the photoreaction centers of the thermophilic cyanobacterium, Synechococcus elongatus, received high acclaim.1,2

A single Berlin group published both structures within five months. "These structures represent a major leap forward in photosynthesis research, and for one team to produce two such structures in quick succession caused a huge stir in the field," says Mike Jones, Bristol University, UK, who specializes in bacterial reaction centers.

The team from Freie Unversitat and Technische Unversitat exploited the same X-ray crystallography advances to produce sufficiently stable crystals of the two photocenters, particularly photosystem I (PSI), for high-resolution diffraction. While the photosystem II (PSII) resolution is slightly lower, the molecule's significance as ...

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