Biophysical Chemistry of Dioxygen Reactions in Respiration and Photosynthesis

Life depends to a large extent on the solar-energy driven production of oxygen by green plants via the process of photosynthesis and the consumption of oxygen by animals and plants during respiration. Central to these processes are electron-transfer reactions. In respiration, dioxygen is reduced to water by the catalysis of cytochrome c oxidase, whereas in photosynthesis what might be considered the reverse process occurs, namely oxygen is produced via the reactions in Photosystem II. Originally published in 1988, this book brings together research on this important field by prominent experts. It contains separate review chapters on dioxygen chemistry and cytochrome oxidase, experimental and theoretical papers on electron transfer and a wealth of further information on the details of oxygen chemistry in biology. Scientists working in the fields of respiration and photosynthesis will find this book of great interest, as will anyone else who is interested in these fundamental biological processes.