MSGID: 1:317/3 641bd5ee   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Photosynthesis 'hack' could lead to new ways of generating renewable   
   energy    
      
     Date:   
         March 22, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Cambridge   
     Summary:   
         Researchers have 'hacked' the earliest stages of photosynthesis,   
         the natural machine that powers the vast majority of life on Earth,   
         and discovered new ways to extract energy from the process, a   
         finding that could lead to new ways of generating clean fuel and   
         renewable energy.   
      
      
         Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email   
   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   Researchers have 'hacked' the earliest stages of photosynthesis, the   
   natural machine that powers the vast majority of life on Earth, and   
   discovered new ways to extract energy from the process, a finding that   
   could lead to new ways of generating clean fuel and renewable energy.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   An international team of physicists, chemists and biologists, led by the   
   University of Cambridge, was able to study photosynthesis -- the process   
   by which plants, algae and some bacteria convert sunlight into energy --   
   in live cells at an ultrafast timescale: a millionth of a millionth of   
   a second.   
      
   Despite the fact that it is one of the most well-known and well-studied   
   processes on Earth, the researchers found that photosynthesis still has   
   secrets to tell. Using ultrafast spectroscopic techniques to study the   
   movement of energy, the researchers found the chemicals that can extract   
   electrons from the molecular structures responsible for photosynthesis   
   do so at the initial stages, rather than much later, as was previously   
   thought. This 'rewiring' of photosynthesis could improve ways in which   
   it deals with excess energy, and create new and more efficient ways of   
   using its power. The results are reported in the journal Nature.   
      
   "We didn't know as much about photosynthesis as we thought we did, and   
   the new electron transfer pathway we found here is completely surprising,"   
   said Dr Jenny Zhang from Cambridge's Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry,   
   who coordinated the research.   
      
   While photosynthesis is a natural process, scientists have also been   
   studying how it could be used as to help address the climate crisis, by   
   mimicking photosynthetic processes to generate clean fuels from sunlight   
   and water, for example.   
      
   Zhang and her colleagues were originally trying to understand why a   
   ring-shaped molecule called a quinone is able to 'steal' electrons from   
   photosynthesis.   
      
   Quinones are common in nature, and they can accept and give away   
   electrons easily. The researchers used a technique called ultrafast   
   transient absorption spectroscopy to study how the quinones behave in   
   photosynthetic cyanobacteria.   
      
   "No one had properly studied how this molecule interplays with   
   photosynthetic machineries at such an early point of photosynthesis:   
   we thought we were just using a new technique to confirm what we already   
   knew," said Zhang. "Instead, we found a whole new pathway, and opened the   
   black box of photosynthesis a bit further."  Using ultrafast spectroscopy   
   to watch the electrons, the researchers found that the protein scaffold   
   where the initial chemical reactions of photosynthesis take place is   
   'leaky', allowing electrons to escape. This leakiness could help plants   
   protect themselves from damage from bright or rapidly changing light.   
      
   "The physics of photosynthesis is seriously impressive," said co-first   
   author Tomi Baikie, from Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory "Normally,   
   we work on highly ordered materials, but observing charge transport   
   through cells opens up remarkable opportunities for new discoveries on how   
   nature operates."  "Since the electrons from photosynthesis are dispersed   
   through the whole system, that means we can access them," said co-first   
   author Dr Laura Wey, who did the work in the Department of Biochemistry,   
   and is now based at the University of Turku, Finland. "The fact that we   
   didn't know this pathway existed is exciting, because we could be able to   
   harness it to extract more energy for renewables."  The researchers say   
   that being able to extract charges at an earlier point in the process of   
   photosynthesis, could make the process more efficient when manipulating   
   photosynthetic pathways to generate clean fuels from the Sun. In addition,   
   the ability to regulate photosynthesis could mean that crops could be   
   made more able to tolerate intense sunlight.   
      
   "Many scientists have tried to extract electrons from an earlier point   
   in photosynthesis, but said it wasn't possible because the energy is so   
   buried in the protein scaffold," said Zhang. "The fact that we can steal   
   them at an earlier process is mind-blowing. At first, we thought we'd   
   made a mistake: it took a while for us to convince ourselves that we'd   
   done it."  Key to the discovery was the use of ultrafast spectroscopy,   
   which allowed the researchers to follow the flow of energy in the   
   living photosynthetic cells on a femtosecond scale -- a thousandth of   
   a trillionth of a second.   
      
   "The use of these ultrafast methods has allowed us to understand   
   more about the early events in photosynthesis, on which life on Earth   
   depends," said co-author Professor Christopher Howe from the Department   
   of Biochemistry.   
      
   The research was supported in part by the Engineering and Physical   
   Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Biotechnology and Biological Sciences   
   Research Council (BBSRC) part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI),   
   as well as the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability   
   at University of Cambridge, the Cambridge Commonwealth, European &   
   International Trust, and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and   
   innovation programme. Jenny Zhang is a David Phillips Fellow at the   
   Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, and a Fellow of Corpus Christi   
   College, Cambridge. Tomi Baikie is a NanoFutures Fellow at the Cavendish   
   Laboratory. Laura Wey is Novo Nordisk Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at   
   the University of Turku.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Botany # Biology # New_Species   
             o Matter_&_Energy   
                   # Biochemistry # Organic_Chemistry # Energy_and_Resources   
             o Earth_&_Climate   
                   # Energy_and_the_Environment # Renewable_Energy #   
                   Environmental_Science   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Phytoplankton o Renewable_energy o Wind_turbine o   
             Chloroplast o Photosynthesis o Energy_development o Wind_power   
             o Alcohol_fuel   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Cambridge. Original   
   written by Sarah Collins. The original text of this story is licensed   
   under a Creative_Commons License. Note: Content may be edited for style   
   and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Tomi K. Baikie, Laura T. Wey, Joshua M. Lawrence, Hitesh Medipally,   
      Erwin   
         Reisner, Marc M. Nowaczyk, Richard H. Friend, Christopher J. Howe,   
         Christoph Schnedermann, Akshay Rao, Jenny Z. Zhang. Photosynthesis   
         re- wired on the pico-second timescale. Nature, 2023; DOI:   
         10.1038/s41586- 023-05763-9   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230322140357.htm   
      
   --- up 1 year, 3 weeks, 2 days, 10 hours, 50 minutes   
    * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)   
   SEEN-BY: 15/0 106/201 114/705 123/120 153/7715 226/30 227/114 229/110   
   SEEN-BY: 229/111 112 113 307 317 400 426 428 470 664 700 292/854 298/25   
   SEEN-BY: 305/3 317/3 320/219 396/45   
   PATH: 317/3 229/426