Project 19

Membrane-associated redox protein supercomplexes in photosynthesis

Principle Investigator: Dr. Rana Hussein Ali

Research Areas: Structural Biology, Bioenergetics, Biophysics

Summary

Photosystem II is the known membrane supercomplex that splits water into electrons, protons, and oxygen. Its activity relies on two redox sites: the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) and a quinone-binding site that sequentially accepts electrons. Despite structural insights, the mechanisms of OEC assembly and electron–proton coupling during quinone turnover remain unclear. By integrating biochemical and biophysical approaches, we will elucidate how this redox machinery assembles and activates, as well as how electron and proton transfer processes are dynamically regulated at the quinone side.

Dr. Rana Hussein Ali

Goethe University Frankfurt

Website

P19: PROJECT-RELATED PUBLICATIONS

  1. Hussein R*, Graça A, Forsman J, Aydin AO, Hall M, Gaetcke J, Chernev P, Wendler P, Dobbek H, Messinger J*, Zouni A*, Schröder W* (2024) Cryo–electron microscopy reveals hydrogen positions and water networks in photosystem II. Science 384, 1349–1355
  2. Bhowmick A, Hussein R, Bogacz I, Simon PS, Ibrahim M, Chatterjee R, Doyle MD, Cheah MH, Fransson T, Chernev P, Kim IS, Makita H, Dasgupta M, Kaminsky CJ, Zhang M, Gätcke J, Haupt S, Nangca II, Keable SM, Aydin AO, Tono K, Owada S, Gee LB, Fuller FD, Batyuk A, Alonso-Mori R, Holton JM, Paley DW, Moriarty NW, Mamedov F, Adams PD, Brewster AS, Dobbek H, Sauter NK, Bergmann U, Zouni A*, Messinger J*, Kern J*, Yano J*, Yachandra VK* (2023) Structural evidence for intermediates during O2 formation in photosystem II. Nature 617, 629–636 
  3. Hussein R*, Ibrahim M, Bhowmick A, Simon PS, Bogacz I, Doyle MD, Dobbek H, Zouni A, Messinger J, Yachandra VK, Yano J (2023) Evolutionary diversity of proton and water channels on the oxidizing side of photosystem II and their relevance to function. Photosynth Res 158, 91–107 
  4. Hussein R, Ibrahim M, Bhowmick A, Simon PS, Chatterjee R, Lassalle L, Doyle M, Bogacz I, Kim IS, Cheah MH, Gul S, de Lichtenberg C, Chernev P, Pham CC, Young ID, Carbajo S, Fuller FD, Alonso-Mori R, Batyuk A, Sutherlin KD, Brewster AS, Bolotovsky R, Mendez D, Holton JM, Moriarty NW, Adams PD, Bergmann U, Sauter NK, Dobbek H, Messinger J*, Zouni A*, Kern J*, Yachandra VK*, Yano J* (2021) Structural dynamics in the water and proton channels of photosystem II during the S₂ to S₃ transition. Nat Commun 12, 6531 
  5. Hussein R*, Ibrahim M, Chatterjee R, Coates L, Müh F, Yachandra VK, Yano J, Kern J, Dobbek H, Zouni A* (2018) Optimizing crystal size of photosystem II by macroseeding: toward neutron protein crystallography. Cryst Growth Des 18, 85–94
  6. Zhang M, Bommer M, Chatterjee R, Hussein R, Yano J, Dau H*, Kern J*, Dobbek H*, Zouni A* (2017) Structural insights into the light-driven auto-assembly process of the water-oxidizing Mn4CaO5-cluster in photosystem II. eLife 6, e26933. 
*corresponding author