Photosynthesis

Solar energy is the source of almost all life on this Earth. An important factor in increasing the production of biomass, bioenergy and biofuel, which is needed to solve the global energy crisis, is the overall efficiency of photosynthesis. To manipulate overall efficiency we must understand the basic reactions of photosynthesis. This volume (Photosynthesis: Plastid Biology, Energy Conversion and Carbon Assimilation) in the Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration series provides a comprehensive view of the current understanding of photosynthesis; it is divided into several sections to help the readers see the broad categories of photosynthetic processes. The first twenty-nine chapters in this volume cover the topics central to our current understanding of Photosynthesis. An additional chapter focuses on historical aspects tracing the development of concepts in photosynthesis. A strong evolutionary thread runs through the chapters; evolutionary insights aid in understanding why photosynthesis today has so many of its special properties. In this volume readers will find discussions of the origins of photosynthesis through to the future of photosynthesis, both near term as affected by global change and even further, the prospects for engineering artificial photosynthesis. Readers will learn about bacteria that use just parts of the photosynthetic system found in plants and how duplication and specialization in a small number of progenitor pigments, and proteins, gave rise to the vast array of pigments and proteins that are found in photosynthetic systems today. This book is dedicated to Govindjee, the founding series editor, whose research contributions are enormous, and are included in the last three chapters of this book. This volume will be of interest to advanced undergraduates in plant biology, and plant biochemistry and to graduate students and instructors wanting a single reference volume on the latest understanding of the critical components of photosynthesis. For biologists, biochemists, and biophysicists, this volume will provide quick background understanding for the breadth of issues in photosynthesis that are important in research and instructional settings.