Govindjee Govindjee

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign | UIUC · Department of Plant Biology

We present here the research contributions of Jan Amesz (1934–2001) on deciphering the details of the early physico-chemical steps in oxygenic photosynthesis in plants, algae and cyanobacteria, as well as in anoxygenic photosynthesis in purple, green, and heliobacteria. His research included light absorption and the mechanism of excitation energy t...

To keep up with the growth of human population and to circumvent deleterious effects of global climate change, it is essential to enhance crop yield to achieve higher production. Here we review mathematical models of oxygenic photosynthesis that are extensively used, and discuss in depth a subset that accounts for diverse approaches providing solut...

The first use of the word ‘chlorophyll’ (chlorophile or chlorophyle in the French original) appeared in two papers by Pierre-Joseph Pelletier and Joseph Bienaimé Caventou, pharmacists in Paris who isolated and studied the green pigment from plants. Here, we provide English translations of their 1818 note and the slightly longer 1817 paper. Historic...

The models used to describe the light response of electron transport rate in photosynthesis play a crucial role in determining two key parameters i.e., the maximum electron transport rate (J max) and the saturation light intensity (I sat). However, not all models accurately fit J–I curves, and determine the values of J max and I sat. Here, three mo...

Abiotic stresses such as heat, drought and submergence are major threats to global food security. Despite simultaneous or sequential occurrence of these stresses being recurrent under field conditions, crop response to such stress combinations is poorly understood. Rice is a staple food crop for the majority of human beings. Exploitation of existin...

Chlorophyll b is synthesized from chlorophyllide a, catalyzed by chlorophyllide a oxygenase (CAO). To examine whether reduced chlorophyll b content regulates chlorophyll (Chl) synthesis and photosynthesis, we raised CAO transgenic tobacco plants with antisense CAO expression, which had lower chlorophyll b content and, thus, higher Chl a/b ratio. Fu...

We honor here Dinesh Chandra Uprety (1945-2023), one of the most remarkable plant scientists of India, who devoted most of his life in solving the question of how best to tune the crop plants so that they can serve the growing human population in this world. We have provided here a glimpse of his personal life as well as his remarkable scientific c...

The evolution of secondary sex-specific traits of dioecious species under abiotic stress conditions has received limited research, especially in the case of Amaranthus palmeri, a fast adapting and highly competing plant. Here, we have examined the interactive effects of abiotic stress on mineral accumulation, chlorophyll a and b content, and the op...

In general, the word, photosynthesis, is considered synonymous with oxygenic photosynthesis, a process by which cyanobacteria, algae, aquatic, and terrestrial plants produce oxygen and carbohydrates, using light (photons), water and carbon dioxide. Further, we have anoxygenic bacterial photosynthesis where oxygen is not evolved, but a substrate, ot...

We present here the life and the work of Paul A. Castelfranco (1921–2021), a very special person who was not only a top chemist of chlorophyll biosynthesis, but also made major contributions on fatty acid oxidation, acetate metabolism and cellular organization. He led an extraordinary and exemplary life as a human being. We present here both his pe...

In this historical perspective, we focus on selected discoveries that Albert Frenkel (1919-2015) made all by himself - single-handedly - which is the discovery of photophosphorylation and NAD reduction in anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria. Then, we present various aspects of his research life through his unpublished letters with some key scientist...

Evaluation of photosynthetic quantum yield is important for analyzing the phenotype of plants. Chlorophyll a fluorescence (ChlF) has been widely used to estimate plant photosynthesis and its regulatory mechanisms. The ratio of variable to maximum fluorescence, Fv/Fm, obtained from a ChlF induction curve, is commonly used to reflect the maximum phot...

Photosynthetic water oxidation by Photosystem II (PSII) is a fascinating process because it sustains life on Earth and serves as a blue print for scalable synthetic catalysts required for renewable energy applications. The biophysical, computational, and structural description of this process, which started more than 50 years ago, has made tremendo...

I present here a personal perspective of the evolution of the two-light reaction two-pigment scheme for the electron transport in oxygenic photosynthesis - as I have lived through it - first as a graduate student of Robert Emerson, from September 1956-January 1959, and then of Eugene Rabinowitch from February 1959-September 1960. I have provided he...

Francis Haxo has been known to us as a thoughtful, patient, and dedicated scientist of the highest order. As a genuine scholar, he meticulously mulled over ideas for years before publishing his research. One of us (GG) knew him through three other friends: Barbara B. Prézelin, 1948-2021; David (Dave) C. Fork, 1929-2020; Beatrice (Beazy) M. Sweeney,...

For natural oxygenic photosynthesis, there is a consensus that H2O is oxidized to molecular oxygen by photosystem II (PSII) in the grana, while CO2 assimilation takes place, long after oxygen evolution, in light-independent reactions, for example, through the Calvin-Benson Cycle in the stroma. Here, we report, for the first time, light-driven CO2 a...

We provide here an overview of the remarkable life and outstanding research of David (Dave) Charles Fork (March 4, 1929–December 13, 2021) in oxygenic photosynthesis. In the words of the late Jack Edgar Myers, he was a top ‘photosynthetiker’. His research dealt with novel findings on light absorption, excitation energy distribution, and redistribut...

We present here a tribute to one of the foremost biophysicists of our time, Vladimir Anatolievich Shuvalov, who made important contributions in bioenergetics, especially on the primary steps of conversion of light energy into charge-separated states in both anoxygenic and oxygenic photosynthesis. For this, he and his research team exploited pico- a...

An important method to improve photosynthesis in C3 crops, such as rice and wheat, is to transfer efficient C4 characters to them. Here, cytosolic carbonic anhydrase (CA: βCA3) of the C4 Flaveria bidentis (Fb) was overexpressed under the control of 35S promoter in Arabidopsis thaliana, a C3 plant, to enhance its photosynthetic efficiency. Overexpre...

Do whatever really excites you in your life, and do it as best you can, and if you have enough luck, it will work out. — Paul Lauterbur We provide here a brief personal tribute to Paul C. Lauterbur (6 May 1929 to 27 March 2007), who was the father of Carbon-13 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (13C NMR) and inventor of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). He...

The evolution of secondary sex-specific traits of dioecious species under abiotic stress conditions has received limited research, especially in the case of Amaranthus palmeri , a fast adapting and highly competing plant. Here, we have examined the interactive effects of abiotic stress on mineral accumulation, chlorophyll a and b content, and the o...

Tribute to Jean Lavorel (16 March 1928-12 January 2021), a pioneer of the 'Light Reactions of Photosynthesis'. He was known not only for his ingenuity in devising new instruments but in thoroughly analyzing all the available data theoretically and mathematically - mostly all by himself. He measured, elegantly, oxygen evolution and light given off b...

Robert (Bob) K. Togasaki was devoted to science and the people in the scientific community. He elucidated some of the most fundamental aspects of photosynthesis and carbon metabolism through classic genetic approaches and later using the tools of modern biotechnology. Along the way, he freely shared his ideas and enthusiasm with established scienti...

One of the important ways to improve photosynthetic capacity in C3 crops, such as rice and wheat, is to transfer efficient C4 characters to them. Here, cytosolic carbonic anhydrase (βCA3) of the C4 Flaveria bidentis (Fb), having low Km for CO2, was overexpressed under the control of 35S promoter in Arabidopsis thaliana, a C3 plant, to enhance its p...

The evolution of secondary sex-specific traits of dioecious species under abiotic stress conditions has received limited research, especially in the case of Amaranthus palmeri, a fast adapting and highly competing plant. Here, we have examined the interactive effects of abiotic stress on mineral accumulation, chlorophyll a and b content, and the op...

Professor Krishna K. Tewari (1937-2017) was a pioneer in plant molecular biology and biochemistry. He was a professor and served as the Chairman of the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at the University of California, Irvine, and was the founder-director of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delh...

Active control of photosynthetic activities is important in plant physiological study. Although models of plant photosynthesis have been built at different scales, they have not been fully examined for their application in plant growth control. However, we do not have an infrastructure to support such experiments since current plant growth chambers...

Oxygenic photosynthesis takes place in thylakoid membranes (TM) of cyanobacteria, algae, and higher plants. It begins with light absorption by pigments in large (modular) assemblies of pigment-binding proteins, which then transfer excitation energy to the photosynthetic reaction centers of photosystem (PS) I and PSII. In green algae and plants, the...

Lectins are ubiquitous proteins that reversibly bind to specific carbohydrates and, thus, serve as readers of the sugar code. In photosynthetic organisms, lectin family proteins play important roles in capturing and releasing photosynthates via an endogenous lectin cycle. Often, lectin proteins consist of one or more lectin domains in combination w...

Photosystem II (PSII) of plants, algae and cyanobacteria is a specialised protein complex that uses light energy to transfer electrons from water to plastoquinone, producing molecular oxygen and reduced plastoquinone. The PSII complex includes a peripheral antenna containing chlorophyll and other pigments to absorb light, a reaction centre that uti...

After a brief background on Otto Heinrich Warburg (1883–1970), and some of his selected research, we provide highlights, in English, of three of his papers in the 1940s—unknown to many as they were not originally published in English. They are: two brief reports on Photosynthesis, with Wilhelm Lüttgens, originally published in German, in 1944: ‘Exp...

Martin Kamen was a giant of twentieth century science. Trained as a physical chemist, he was the co-discoverer of radioactive Carbon 14, which has transformed many areas of science as a tracer and as a way to date artifacts. He later switched to the study of metabolism and biochemistry and made important contributions to the understanding of nitrog...

Structure and function of the enzyme Photosystem II. Graphic Design by Dmitry Shevela (SciGrafik, Sweden). Agrisera is a sponsor of the graphic design work, printing, and free distribution of this poster at numerous plant science-related conferences around the world. A hard copy of the poster can be requested for free at Agrisera's website (https:/...

Drought is the primary and dominant natural cause of stress on vegetation, and thus, it needs our full attention. Current understanding of drought across extensive spatial measures, around the world, is considerably limited. As case studies to evaluate the feasibility of utilizing space-based solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) across exte...

We provide here a general introduction on chlorophyll (Chl) a fluorescence, then we present our measurements on fast (< 1 s) induction curves (the so-called OJIP transients) on dark-adapted intact leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana, under five different light intensities [in the range of ~ 500 to ~ 3,000 µmol(photons) m‒2 s‒1] using two different instr...

Bacon Ke, who did pioneering research on the primary photochemistry of photosynthesis, was born in China on July 26, 1920, and currently, he is living in a senior home in San Francisco, California, and is a centenarian. To us, this is a very happy and unique occasion to honor him. After providing a brief account of his life, and a glimpse of his re...

We honor here Hartmut Karl Lichtenthaler, a pioneer of plant physiology, plant biochemistry, plant biophysics, plant molecular biology, and stress physiology. His contributions to the ingenious use of chlorophyll a fluorescence imaging in understanding the physiological processes in leaves stand out. We wish him many happy and productive years of r...

We provide here an edited version of the "Farewell discussion" by the late Aleksandr (Alex) Yuryevich (Yu) Borisov (1930-2019) on several aspects related to the excitation energy transfer in photosynthetic bacteria. It is preceded by a prolog giving the events that led to our decision to publish it. Further, we include here a few photographs to giv...

The 10th International Conference on «Photosynthesis and Hydrogen Energy Research for Sustainability-2019» was held in honor of Tingyun Kuang (China), Anthony Larkum (Australia), Cesare Marchetti (Italy), and Kimiyuki Satoh (Japan), in St. Petersburg (Russia) during June 23–28, 2019. The official conference organizers from the Russian side were fro...

In this work, the main activities of the plant photosynthesis process are discussed to yield a minimized mathematical model structure with photosystem II (PSII) chlorophyll a fluorescence (ChlF) as a measurable output. After experimental validation of the model structure, we demonstrate that the states of the photosynthetic process may be observed...

Abstract Photosynthesis can be probed through Chlorophyll a fluorescence induction (FI), which provides detailed insight into the electron transfer process in Photosystem II, and beyond. Here, we have systematically studied the natural variation of the fast phase of the FI, i.e. the OJIP phase, in rice. The OJIP phase of the Chl a fluorescence indu...

Lalit Mohan Srivastava (1931–2012) was a well-known plant developmental biologist. He was an authority on the molecular basis of the action of gibberellins and on the physiology, and biochemistry of the seaweeds. Here, we honor him by presenting a glimpse of his life and research; he had authored more than 60 research papers, of which we mention on...

Modulation of glycoregulation in agriculture is reviewed here with emphasis on the elucidation of previously unknown pathways involving vacuolar lectins as well as a bypass of lectins that direct free sugars toward productivity. The reversible binding sequences of the endogenous lectin cycle are compared to an induced lectin bypass, as follows. (1)...

Background With limited agricultural land and increasing human population, it is essential to enhance overall photosynthesis and thus productivity. Oxygenic photosynthesis begins with light absorption, followed by exci-tation energy transfer to the reaction centres, primary photochemistry, electron and proton transport, NADPH and ATP synthesis, and...

We present here a tribute to Maarib Bazzaz (1940-2020), formerly Maarib Darwish Lutfi Bakri, who was an innovative and a highly inquisitive plant physiologist of her time. Her research achievements include exploitation of a highly productive mutant of maize (ON8147), of differences between mesophyll and bundle sheath chloroplasts of maize, and of c...

Constantin A. (Tino) Rebeiz, a pioneer in the field of chlorophyll biosynthesis, and a longtime member of the University of Illinois community of plant biologists, passed away on July 25, 2019. He came to the USA at a time that was difficult for members of minority groups to be in academia. However, his passion for the complexity of the biochemical...

Due to the overall low thermodynamic efficiency (1-4%) of photosynthesis (Ort et al. 2011, Subramanian et al. 2013) and its impact on crop productivity, substantial efforts are being made to engineer photosynthesis to improve its light use and carbon capture efficiency to increase crop yields.

Top diagram features the lectin bypass for modulation of carbon reactions in vacuoles of plant cells. Bottom diagram shows the plant lectin cycle. Global distribution of free poster prints at conferences & schools sponsored by BRANDT GlucoPro® PGR. Designed by Dmitry Shevela, Sweden.

We provide here a brief Tribute to Christiaan Sybesma (1928–2018), a highly respected biophysicist of our time. We remember him by giving a brief highlight of his life and a glimpse of his outstanding contributions in photosynthesis. He was a charming and highly respected scientist of our time.

We present here a tribute to Satish Chandra Maheshwari (known to many as SCM, or simply Satish), one of the greatest plant biologists of our time. He was born on October 4, 1933, in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India, and passed away in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, on June 12, 2019. He is survived by two of his younger sisters (Sushila Narsimhan and Saubhagya...

One of the major factors limiting biomass productivity in algae is the low thermodynamic efficiency of photosynthesis. The greatest thermodynamic inefficiencies in photosynthesis occur during the conversion of light into chemical energy. At full sunlight the light‐harvesting antenna captures photons at a rate nearly ten times faster than the rate‐l...

Basic information about Rubisco (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase; EC 4.1.1.39), its structure, function, and biogenesis. Agrisera is a sponsor of the graphic design work, printing, and free distribution of this poster at numerous plant science-related conferences around the world. A hard copy of the poster can be requested for free...

Chlorophyll a fluorescence has been extensively used in studying photosynthesis and overall physiology of plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. As a research hotspot, a large number of papers have been published. This creates a challenge for beginning researchers to gain a holistic view of co-author and co-cited reference network by reading individual...

Melvin Calvin (1911–1997) was the recipient of the 1961 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of the canonical photosynthetic carbon reduction cycle. We present here a very brief glimpse of this extraordinary American scientist, who in his time was a preeminent force in physical and organic chemistry. Besides natural photosynthesis, Calvin’s p...

Bouteloua gracilis (blue grama grass) is one of the most drought and grazing tolerant plants in the short-grass ecosystem. To obtain information on their photosystem activities, we measured the fast (< 1 s) chlorophyll a fluorescence transient (the OJIP curve) from their leaves, and isolated cells grown photoautotrophically in suspension in a cultu...

A diagram showing glycoregulation by the endogenous lectin cycle of plants. BRANDT iHammer sponsors free distribution of these printed posters. Graphic Design by SciGrafik, Sweden.

Although only 2–4% of absorbed light is emitted as chlorophyll (Chl) a fluorescence, its measurement provides valuable information on photosynthesis of the plant, particularly of Photosystem II (PSII) and Photosystem I (PSI). In this paper, we have examined photosynthetic parameters of Suaeda fruticosa L. (family: Amaranthaceae), surviving under ex...

Here, we provide a brief report on the 2019 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) and Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on photosynthesis. Both the GRC (July 21–26, 2019) and GRS (July 20–21, 2019) were held at Sunday River Resort, Maine, USA, bringing together the beginners as well as the established scientists to discuss recent advances in photosynthesis...

An international Conference «Photosynthesis and Hydrogen Energy Research for Sustainability» is a traditional event held in various countries of the world. We present here a pictorial report of the 10th Conference, held in St. Petersburg (Russia), during June 23–28, 2019, in honor of four distinguished international scientists: Tingyun Kuang (China...

More than 45 years have passed since Eugene I. Rabinowitch died, on May 15, 1973, at the age of 75, but many still remember him as a photosynthesis giant, the author of a 2000-page “Bible” on photosynthesis, a great chemist and physicist, a discoverer of several basic photoreactions, one of the founders of modern biophysics, a peacemaker, a poet, a...

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has not been fixed in the paper.

Cold acclimation modifies the photosynthetic machinery and enables plants to survive at sub-zero temperatures, whereas in warm habitats, many species suffer even at non-freezing temperatures. We have measured chlorophyll a fluorescence (ChlF) and CO2 assimilation to investigate the effects of cold acclimation, and of low temperatures, on a cold-sen...

Non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) of the excited state of chlorophyll a is a major photoprotective mechanism plants utilize to survive under high light. Here, we report the impact of long-term light quality treatment on photosynthetic properties, especially NPQ in rice. We used three LED-based light regimes, i.e., red (648–672 nm), blue (438–460 nm...

The maximum quantum yield of photosystem II (as reflected by variable to maximum chlorophyll a fluorescence, Fv/Fm) is regarded as one of the most important photosynthetic parameters. The genetic basis underlying natural variation in Fv/Fm, which shows low level of variations in plants under non‐stress conditions, is not easy to be exploited using...

Photosynthesis has been an important field of research for more than a century, but the present concerns about energy, environment and climate have greatly intensified interest in and research on this topic. Research has progressed rapidly in recent years, and this book is an interesting read for an audience who is concerned with various ways of ha...

In this chapter, we focus on the use of chlorophyll (Chl) a fluorescence to study various photosynthetic processes and their regulation in cyanobacteria. Compared to algae and plants, thylakoid membranes of cyanobacteria not only have photosynthetic, but also respiratory electron transport components. Further, they have phycobilisomes (containing p...

Simplified representation of interconnections between photosynthesis and cellular respiration in plants. Agrisera is a sponsor of the graphic design work, printing, and free distribution of this poster at numerous plant science-related conferences around the world. A hard copy of the poster can be requested for free at support@agrisera.com. Graphic...

With this Tribute, we remember and honor Thomas John (Tom) Wydrzynski. Tom was a highly innovative, independent and committed researcher, who had, early in his career, defined his life-long research goal. He was committed to understand how Photosystem II produces molecular oxygen from water, using the energy of sunlight, and to apply this knowledge...

After briefly describing my early collaborative work at the University of Allahabad, that had laid the foundation of my research life, I present here some of our research on photosynthesis at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, randomly selected from light absorption to NADP⁺ reduction in plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. These include...

We pay tribute to Tom Wydrzynski who passed away at age 71 on March 16, 2018, in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. He was a wonderful and caring human being, friend to many, and one of the great plant biologists/biochemists/biophysicists of our time. He successfully dug deeply into the function of the oxygen evolving complex (OEC) by applying a combination...

Tom Bannister (1930–2018) was an extraordinary person and a remarkably productive scientist. He began his career studying the basics of photochemistry, biophysics, and biology of photosynthetic pigments and later moved on to primary production of algae. His publications on modeling of primary production rates in aquatic systems are among the most w...

After a brief prologue on Otto Kandler’s life, we describe briefly his pioneering work on photosynthesis (photophosphorylation and the carbon cycle) and his key participation in the discovery of the concept of three forms of life (Archaea, Prokarya, and Eukarya). With Otto Kandler’s passing, both the international photosynthesis and microbiology co...

We summarize here research contributions of eight stalwarts in photosynthesis research from India. These distinguished scientists (Shree Kumar Apte, Basanti Biswal, Udaya C. Biswal, Agepati S. Raghavendra, Attipalli Ramachandra Reddy, Prafullachandra Vishnu (Raj) Sane, Baishnab Charan Tripathy, and Dinesh C. Uprety) were honored on November 2, 2017...

Educational Poster "Z-scheme of Electron Transport in Photosynthesis". A diagram for linear electron transfer from water to NADP+, plotted accordingly to midpoint potentials at pH 7.0, based partly on a similar poster, printed horizontally in 2017. In the diagram, shown in this poster, we have not included proton transport and the consequent format...

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.