BIOINFORMATICS APPROACHES TO PHOTOSYSTEM II STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND ENGINEERING

Advances in computing power and refinement of computational biology tools has recently allowed to analyze increasingly complex systems through bioinformatics approaches. Photosystem II (PSII), a 350 kDa proteins cofactors macromolecular complex located in the thylacoid membranes of oxygenic photosynthetic organisms, is a prototype of such complex systems. PSII core is made up by the D1 e D2 proteins (the "reaction center") which contain binding pockets for the plastoquinones QB and QA. PSII Catalyzes the light-induced production of reducing equivalents in the form of plastoquinol molecules. The reaction byproduct is molecular oxygen and thus PSII is essential for higher organisms life on Earth. Here, recent bioformatics studies of PSII will be discussed focusing on the reaction center evolution and on the macromolecular complex dynamics and mechanism of plastoquinol-plastoquinone exchange. In addition, bioinformatics-driven engineering studies of PSII for biotechnological purposes will also be reported. Finally, the design and characterization of PSII mimics for biosensing purposes will be illustrated as well.