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LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY | PHYSICAL BIOSCIENCES DIVISION
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Photosystem II
Cover image from March 9, 2007 issue of Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 282, highlighting the PSII study by Pushkar et al., pp. 7198-7208.

WELCOME TO THE
YACHANDRA/YANO GROUP

Most of the O2 in the atmosphere that supports life on earth is generated by plants, algae, and cyanobacteria via the photo-induced oxidation of water to dioxygen:

2H2O → O2 + 4e- + 4H+

This light-driven reaction is catalyzed by a manganese/calcium complex (Mn4CaO5), which sequentially stores four oxidizing equivalents used to oxidize two molecules of water to molecular oxygen.

In our lab, we primarily use X-ray spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy to investigate the oxidation state, electronic structure, and associated calcium and chloride cofactors of the catalytic Mn4CaO5 cluster.  We also study inorganic transition metal complexes for electrochemical water oxidation catalysis.

LBNL | Physical Biosciences Division | UC Berkeley Chemistry | Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis



Last updated on Feb 3, 2013. Email webmaster for comments or questions.