Overview

The primary processes of photosynthesis lead to transformation of solar radiation into electrochemical Gibbs energy - the driving force for life on Earth. These intricate and fascinating processes have been researched and analysed for generations and in this two part set the Editor has brought together contributions from numerous leading scientific experts providing a compendium of information offering the most up-to-date understanding of the primary processes of photosynthesis. In addition to providing high quality structure information at atomic resolution for a range of reaction centres and antenna complexes the contributors have competently summarized the current knowledge on the mechanisms of light harvesting, charge separation, electron transport, water cleavage and ATP synthesis. This outstanding work represents the activity of researchers across the globe and will be of utmost interest to all those working in the fields of Photochemistry, Bio-organic Chemistry, Bio-inorganic Chemistry, Crystallography, Biological Sciences, Biochemistry and related disciplines.

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Reviews

I can certainly recommend the set to colleagues and would think it a must for any library serving a scientific community with serious interests in this area. JACS, Vol 131, No 4 2009

Plants and sunshine <p>Primary processes of photosynthesis: Principles and apparatus <p>Gernot Renger (Ed)<br>Cambridge, UK: RSC Publishing 2008, 1088 pages, (two volumes), (HB) ISBN 978-0-85404-364-4 <p>Reviewed by Bob Brown <p>The editor's preface to this pair of volumes, which concentrate on the primary processes in photosynthesis, asks the very pertinent question as to why, given that there is a goodly number of photosynthesis books already published, another pair are appropriate? The answer given is '.the enormous progress achieved in molecular biology and x-ray diffraction crystallography of membrane proteins during the last two decades, which has enabled, in combination with developments of sophisticated spectroscopic methods of very high time resolution, much deeper insight into the mechanisms and structure of the [photosynthetic] apparatus.' and that '.significant advances in the methodology of theory (quantum chemistry, molecular mechanics) offer a new basis for a better understanding of structure-function relationships.'. <p>Do these volumes reflect those criteria? Emphatically yes. The vast majority of volume two (12 chapters) and most of volume one (10 chapters) review this recent work. The contributing authors are to be congratulated on meeting their remit so well - indeed the RSC, the series editors and Gernot Renger are also to be congratulated on the quality of the panel of 42 that have contributed to this work. <p>Inevitably, there needs to be some scene-setting, and this is undertaken in the early chapters, with a very readable overview by Renger, a chapter on light absorption and electronic energy and electron transfer, and chapters on the chlorophyllsand carotenoids. The second of these went rather further into the quantum mechanical theory than I would have thought necessary and the content could have been subsumed elsewhere, but the emphasis on state-of-the-art techniques and results was already evident in these initial chapters. <p>The rest of the content of the two volumes mainly falls into three categories: antenna systems, photosystems and reaction centers and electron transport / phosphorylation. These are well-established sub-divisions and serve their purpose perfectly well. The chapters on Photosystems I and II were of particular interest and made very interesting reading, although there was less mention of the fast and ultrafast fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy of PSI than I would have expected. This is a minor criticism because the impression throughout is of internationally-respected authors writing on subjects with which they are completely familiar and current. <p>The two books include a very comprehensive subject index but no list of authors of cited papers. I accept that several thousand papers were cited, but I would certainly have appreciated an author list. <p>At (...) the indicated price for the pair, I doubt that too many individuals will purchase these volumes, but they will be invaluable reference for years to come and no good science library will be without them. <p>Chemistry World, 2008, 5(9), p. 75

""I can certainly recommend the set to colleagues and would think it a must for any library serving a scientific community with serious interests in this area."" * JACS, Vol 131, No 4 2009 *

Author Information

Gernot Renger is Professor at the Technical University of Berlin and has over 40 years experience in photosynthesis research. His scientific work is documented in some 350 publications. He is one of the consulting editors on the book series Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration and has co-edited other books addressing related topics.

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