Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology xxx (2015) xxxxxx

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Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jphotobiol

Editorial

Many scientists believe that the photochemical reaction of

photosynthesis is the most important reaction on earth.
Photosynthesis is used by plants, algae, and many species of bacteria
to capture the suns energy to oxidize and reduce different compounds and it is estimated to produce more than 100 billion tons
of dry biomass annually [14].
The fossil fuels and oxygen in earths atmosphere are derived
from millions of years of photosynthetic activity. Oxygen is also
the optimal electron acceptor for respiration as it yields more
energy per electron transfer than any other element that could
be sufciently stable to build up to appreciable concentration
in earths atmosphere. One of the geologically important signatures of life is the high concentration of oxygen in earths atmosphere. It has been hypothesized that many biological patterns
such as body size depended on high concentration of oxygen in
Earths atmosphere. On the other hand, oxygen forms the layer
of ozone from 20 to 40 miles above the surface of the earth
and protects living organisms from excessive ultraviolet radiation
[18].
In addition to these issues, photosynthesis is a mentor which
teaches many secrets to capture sunlight energy to store in chemicals. Now, the advances in characterization techniques and their
application to the eld have improved our understanding of fundamental aspects of photosynthesis. As an example, the wateroxidizing complex (WOC) in Photosystem II is a very important
natural catalyst, which provides cheap electrons to reduce CO2.
In 2004, Barber and Iwatas groups found three Mn and one Ca
ion form an elongated CaMn3(l-O)4 cubanic structure together
with four bridging oxygen atoms in the WOC in Photosystem II
[5]. A Mn ion was proposed to be connected to the cube by binding
to one of the bridging oxygen atoms, and was positioned as a dangler. Shen and Kamiya in 2011 found four Mn ions, one Ca ion, and
ve O atoms in the structure. Two water molecules where shown
coordinated to Ca and two others coordinated to the dangling
Mn (Mn(4)) and thus could be described as a Mn4CaO5(H2O)4 cluster (Fig. 1a and b) [6]. Recently, the group reported a rened radiation-damage-free structure of the WOC [7]. This structure
constitutes a blueprint for catalysts that can provide cheap electrons for many reactions in articial photosynthetic systems. We
need such blueprints [715] as the worlds population increases
and our reliance upon convenient fossil fuels for energy leads to
an increase in carbon dioxide emissions, which in turn contributes
to global climate change [8]. Articial photosynthesis, which is
described as Chemistrys Greatest Challenge [9], attempts to
replicate the natural processes of photosynthesis and, at least in
near future, the goal of articial photosynthesis is to use sunlight
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2015.04.008
1011-1344/ 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nature Publications 2012

Articial photosynthesis

Fig. 1. (a) Structure of the Mn4CaO5 cluster. (b) Distances () are between metal
ions and oxo bridges or water molecules [7]. Image and caption is from Ref. [7].
Adapted with permission from Ref. [7].

energy to make high-energy chemicals to store energy. A challenge

in articial photosynthesis is to use cheap and environmentally
friendly compounds. Many components currently proposed for
use in articial photosynthetic systems are expensive, toxic,
inefcient or non-durable. In this issue, we can learn much from
bio-systems, in particular, strategies for using abundant, easily
accessible, and environmentally benign materials.

Editorial / Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology xxx (2015) xxxxxx

Nature Publications 2012

Scheme 1. An articial photosynthetic system: single-step reactions (a), and two-step (Z-scheme) reactions (b). P: chromophore of a single-step reaction system; P: excited
state of P; P1: the rst chromophore of a two-step reaction system; P1: excited state of P1; P2: second chromophore of a two-step reaction system; P2: excited state of P2.
Adapted with permission from Ref. [15].

However, there have been many attempts to design different

systems using chemicals and methods that may not have much
to do with how natural organisms perform it. All avenues [815]
must be encouraged, but the point is that learning from the natural
systems makes sense since these have been doing it successfully
for millions of years (Scheme 1). Articial photosynthesis is, as discussed by Collings and Critchley, an umbrella term that includes
reactions from water splitting, CO2 and N2 reduction, to engineered
bacteria [10]. In this issue, we collected new progresses in this eld
from different scientists in different countries.
Acknowledgments
We thank all authors who contributed papers for this special
issue, and also our many dedicated, hard-working reviewers. We
are especially grateful to editors of this Journal, to Z. Juan and to
all of Elsevier staffs, for their advice in developing this exciting
issue, for their constant support and for their comments on this
Editorial. MMN is grateful to Institute for Advanced Studies in
Basic Sciences and the National Elite Foundation for nancial support. SIA, acknowledges the Russian Foundation for Basic Research
(Grants Nos: 14-04-01549 and 14-04-92690 BHL_a), and the
Molecular and Cell Biology Programs of the Russian Academy of
Sciences.
References
[1] S.I. Allakhverdiev, Recent progress in the studies of structure and function of
photosystem II, J. Photochem. Photobiol. B: Biol. 104 (2011) 18.
[2] S.I. Allakhverdiev, Photosynthetic and biomimetic hydrogen production, Int. J.
Hydrogen Energy 37 (2012) 87448752.
[3] M.M. Najafpour, S.I. Allakhverdiev, Nano-sized Mn oxide: a true catalyst in the
water-oxidation reaction, J. Photochem. Photobiol. B: Biol. (2015) (in press).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2015.01.014.
[4] R. Carpentier, S.I. Allakhverdiev, In honor of Vladimir A. Shuvalov: light energy
conversion in photosynthesis, Photosynth. Res. (2015) (in press). http://dx.doi.
org/10.1007/s11120-015-0108-y.
[5] K.N. Ferreira, T.M. Iverson, K. Maghlaoui, J. Barber, S. Iwata, Architecture of the
photosynthetic oxygen-evolving center, Science 303 (2004) 18311838.
[6] Y. Umena, K. Kawakami, J.-R. Shen, N. Kamiya, Crystal structure of oxygenevolving photosystem II at a resolution of 1.9 , Nature 473 (2011) 5560.
[7] M. Suga, F. Akita, K. Hirata, G. Ueno, H. Murakami, Y. Nakajima, T. Shimizu, K.
Yamashita, M. Yamamoto, H. Ago, J.-R. Shen, Native structure of photosystem II
at 1.95 resolution viewed by femtosecond X-ray pulses, Nature 517 (2015)
99103.

[8] M.M. Najafpour, T. Ehrenberg, M. Wiechen, P. Kurz, Calcium manganese(III)

oxides (CaMn2O4
xH2O) as biomimetic oxygen-evolving catalysts, Angew.
Chem. Int. Ed. 49 (2010) 22332237.
[9] N. Jones, New leaf: the promise of articial photosynthesis, New Sci. Mag. 2860
(2012) 2831.
[10] A.F. Collings, C. Critchley (Eds.), Articial Photosynthesis: From Basic Biology
to Industrial Application, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Germany, 2005, p. 313.
[11] M.M. Najafpour, A. Nemati Moghaddam, S.I. Allakhverdiev, Govindjee,
Biological water oxidation: lessons from nature, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 2012
(1817) 11101121.
[12] M. Wiechen, M.M. Najafpour, S.I. Allakhverdiev, L. Spiccia, Water oxidation
catalysis by manganese oxides: learning from evolution, Energy Environ. Sci. 7
(2014) 22032212.
[13] G.D. Scholes, G.R. Fleming, A. Olaya-Castro, R. van Grondelle, Lessons from
nature about solar light harvesting, Nat. Chem. 3 (10) (2011) 763774.
[14] D.G. Nocera, The articial leaf, Acc. Chem. Res. 45 (5) (2012) 767776.
[15] Y. Tachibana, L. Vayssieres, J.R. Durrant, Articial photosynthesis for solar
water-splitting, Nat. Photon. 6 (2012) 511518.

Mohammad Mahdi Najafpour received his Ph.D. in

Inorganic Chemistry from Sharif University of
Technology, Tehran, Iran, in 2009. Mahdi is a recipient
of several awards and fellowships, notably the gold
medal of the National Chemistry Olympiad in 2004; he
ranked 1st in the Khwarizmi Youth Festival in 2010.
Currently, he is a faculty member in Chemistry in IASBS.
As a nanobioinorganic chemist, Mahdi believes that
with learning strategies from natural systems, design of
new catalysts using only earth abundant, low cost and
environmentally friendly metal ions is possible. Mahdi
and his research group explore transition-metal compounds as water-oxidizing catalysts for articial photosynthesis. He is the author of
over 150 publications in these and other areas.

Robert Carpentier is professor at Universit du Qubec

Trois- Rivires, Qubec, Canada. He obtained his Ph.D.
in biochemistry from Laval University (1983, Qubec).
He is editor of Journal of Photochemistry and
Photobiology B: Biology, associate editor of the journal
Photosynthesis Research and was the chair of the XIIIth
International Congress on Photosynthesis (Montral,
2004). He is author of more than 200 papers in the eld
of photosynthesis. His research interests concern the
inuence of environmental stresses on electron transport pathways in photosystems I and II and energy
dissipation in photosynthesis.

Editorial / Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology xxx (2015) xxxxxx

Suleyman I. Allakhverdiev is the head of Controlled
Photobiosynthesis Laboratory at the Institute of Plant
Physiology Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Moscow,
Chief Research Scientist at the Institute of Basic
Biological Problems RAS, Pushchino, Moscow Region,
and Professor at M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State
University, Moscow, Russia. He obtained his Dr. Sci.
degree (highest/top degree in science) in plant physiology and photobiochemistry from the Institute of Plant
Physiology RAS (2002, Moscow), and Ph.D. in physics
and mathematics (biophysics), from the Institute of
Biophysics USSR (1984, Pushchino). Earlier, he had
graduated with a B.S./M.S., in physics from the Department of Physics, Azerbaijan
State University, Baku. He has been the guest editor of many (above 25) special
issues in international peer-reviewed journals, as well as, currently a member of the
Editorial Board of more than 15 international journals. Besides being editor-in-chief
of SOAJ NanoPhotoBioSciences, associate editor of the International Journal of
Hydrogen Energy, section editor of the BBA Bioenergetics, he also acts as a referee
for major international journals and grant proposals. He has authored (or co-authored) more than 350 papers. He has organized several international conferences
on photosynthesis. His research interests include the structure and function of
photosystem II, water-oxidizing complex, articial photosynthesis, hydrogen photoproduction, catalytic conversion of solar energy, plant under environmental
stresses, and photoreceptor signaling.

Mohammad Mahdi Najafpour a,b,

Robert Carpentier c,
d,e,f,
Suleyman I. Allakhverdiev

Department of Chemistry, Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic

Sciences (IASBS), Zanjan 45137-66731, Iran

Center of Climate Change and Global Warming, Institute for Advanced

Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS), Zanjan 45137-66731, Iran

Department de Chimie-Biologie, Universit du Quebec Trois Rivires,

3351, Boulevard des Forges, C.P. 500, Quebec G9A 5H7, Canada
d

Institute of Plant Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences,

Botanicheskaya Street 35, Moscow 127276, Russia

Institute of Basic Biological Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences,

Pushchino, Moscow Region 142290, Russia

f
Department of Plant Physiology, Faculty of Biology, M.V. Lomonosov
Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1-12, Moscow 119991, Russia
Corresponding authors:
E-mail addresses: mmnajafpour@iasbs.ac.ir (M.M. Najafpour),
robert.carpentier@uqtr.ca (R. Carpentier),
suleyman.allakhverdiev@gmail.com (S.I. Allakhverdiev)

Available online xxxx