Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Biohybrid solar fuel catalysts leverage natural light-driven enzymes to produce valuable fuel products. One useful biological platform for such a system is photosystem I, a pigment-protein complex that captures sunlight and converts it into chemical energy with near unity quantum efficiency, which generates low potential reducing equivalents for metabolism. Realizing and understanding the molecular basis for an approach that utilizes those electrons and stores solar energy as a fuel is therefore appealing. Here, we report the 2.27-Å global resolution cryo-EM structure of a photosystem I complex with bound platinum nanoparticles that catalyzes light-driven H2 production. The platinum nanoparticle binding sites and possible stabilizing interactions are described. Overall, the investigation reveals a direct structural look at a photon-to-fuels photosynthetic biohybrid system. Natural photosynthesis converts sunlight into chemical energy. Here, the authors present the 2.27-Å cryo-EM structure of Photosystem I bound to platinum nanoparticles, revealing insights into photon-to-fuel catalytic activity for hydrogen production.
Source: Nature Communications
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $6,790
Funders: U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Yale University, Michigan State University, National Institutes of Health, College of Engineering, Michigan State University, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, Basic Energy Sciences, Argonne National Laboratory
Awards: G1006792551, G102163711, G107546177, CAROTENOID FUNCTION IN NATURAL PHOTOSYNTHETIC SYSTEMS, G1286251239, G1313983767, G1664757510, G2080338632, G222768804, G262962599, Photosystem II as a model protein for understanding metalloenzyme active site assembly, G3075337988, G4011351226, G409777406, G426311843, G4293760445, G4531288807, G5030345914, G5387317844, NEW; STUDIES OF PHOTOSYNTHETIC REACTION CENTERS AND BIOMIMETIC SYSTEMS; PI- MARILYN GUNNER, G5607048534, G5648016710, G6848031779, G7583137537, CAROTENOID FUNCTION IN NATURAL PHOTOSYNTHETIC SYSTEMS, G9000166558, G969889393
OpenAlex ID: W4404020520