The prototype reaction center may have used protoporphyrin-IX associated with small
peptides to transfer electrons or protons across the primitive cell membrane. The precursor …

Photosynthesis is an ancient process on Earth. Chemical evidence and recent fossil finds
indicate that cyanobacteria existed 2.5–2.6 billion years (Ga) ago, and these were certainly …

I have re-examined my 1970 article 'Evolution of Photosynthesis'(Olson JM, Science 168:
438–446) to see whether any of my original proposals still survive. My original conviction …

Photosynthesis was well-established on the earth at least 3.5 thousand million years ago,
and it is widely believed that these ancient organisms had similar metabolic capabilities to …

In this review, I reexamine the origin and diversification of photochemical reaction centers
based on the known phylogenetic relations of the core subunits, and with the aid of …

The reaction center is the key component for the primary events in the photochemical
conversion of light into chemical energy. After excitation by light, a charge separation that …

Photosynthesis probably began on the Earth soon after life itself, as the early sources of
chemical energy (geothermal, reducing compounds, hydrogen) were exhausted [about 3.7 …

Photosynthetic organisms that do not evolve oxygen are found in four of the 24 phyla of
bacteria: Proteobacteria (purple bacteria), Chloroflexi (green, non-sulfur bacteria), Chlorobi …

Publisher Summary The high level of diversity among photosynthetic bacteria, including
cyanobacteria, stands in contrast to the relative uniformity found among the chloroplasts of …

The presence of shared conserved insertions or deletions in proteins (referred to as
signature sequences) provides a powerful means to deduce the evolutionary relationships …