Photosynthetic generation of oxygen

The oxygen in the atmosphere is derived from light-driven oxidation of water at a catalytic centre contained within a multi-subunit enzyme known as photosystem II (PSII). PSII is located in the photosynthetic membranes of plants, algae and cyanobacteria and its oxygen-evolving centre (OEC) consists of four manganese ions and a calcium ion surrounded by a highly conserved protein environment. Recently, the structure of PSII was elucidated by X-ray crystallography thus revealing details of the molecular architecture of the OEC. This structural information, coupled with an extensive knowledge base derived from a wide range of biophysical, biochemical and molecular biological studies, has provided a framework for understanding the chemistry of photosynthetic oxygen generation as well as opening up debate about its evolutionary origin.