Structure and Function of Photosynthetic Reaction Centers

光合作用是植物利用的过程， 光合细菌将阳光转化为化学物质 能源 这个过程涉及光引发电子 在蛋白质复合物中发生的转移反应 叫做反应中心。 反应中心从 光合作用生物正在被各种各样的 生物物理和结构技术，包括X射线 结晶学 冈村博士将把他的主要研究精力投入到 反应中心的纯化和表征 光系统II。 细胞色素结合位点也将是 通过特定氨基酸的定点突变研究 反应中心上的残基，以确定它们的 在细胞色素结合和电子传递中的作用。 这是一 令人兴奋的新领域，应该产生新的和有趣的结果 关于光合作用的分子基础

Photosynthesis is the process used by plants and photosynthetic bacteria to convert sunlight into chemical energy. This process involves light initiated electron transfer reactions which take place in a protein complex called the reaction center. The reaction centers from photosynthetic organisms are being studied by a variety of biophysical and structural techniques including X-ray crystallography. Dr. Okamura will devote a major effort of his research to the purification and characterization of reaction centers from Photosystem II. The cytochrome binding site will also be studied by site specific mutagenesis of specific amino acid residues on the reaction center in order to determine their role in cytochrome binding and electron transfer. This is an exciting new area which should yield new and interesting results concerning the molecular basis for photosynthesis.