the water oxidising enzyme Photosystem II in terms of its mechanism, its assembly and itsevolutionary relationships with other photosynthetic reaction centres. Thisenzyme has become the focus of attention because cheapwater splittingcatalysts are urgently needed in theenergy sector forsolar fuel production,electrolysis of water and the reverse reaction infuel cells. My research has made major contributions to understanding this enzyme before it was either popular or profitable. Now that it is finally becoming both of those, I hope to continue to do more of the same. Not just because it might contribute to solving aspects of theenergy crisis but also because understanding the enzyme, which put the energy into thebiosphere, theoxygen into theatmosphere and thence changed the planet, is one of the greatest challenges in biology and chemistry. It is also a fun enzyme to work on.[3]
Bill Rutherford has made seminal contributions that provided deep insights into the structure and function ofphotosynthetic reaction centres, in particularPhotosystem II (PSII). He was the first to propose that PSII had the same basic structure as the simpler,non-oxygenic purple bacterial reaction centre. This key conceptual change became accepted thanks to his important experimental contributions. He went on to discover key features of PSII that differentiate it from other reaction centres. The current understanding of PSII owes a great deal to his incisive experiments and thinking.[1]
^abcdAnon (2014)."Professor Bill Rutherford FRS". London: royalsociety.org. Archived fromthe original on 17 November 2015. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where:
^Rutherford, A. W.; Krieger-Liszkay, A (2001). "Herbicide-induced oxidative stress in photosystem II".Trends in Biochemical Sciences.26 (11):648–53.doi:10.1016/s0968-0004(01)01953-3.PMID11701322.
^Boussac, A; Zimmermann, J. L.; Rutherford, A. W. (1989). "EPR signals from modified charge accumulation states of the oxygen evolving enzyme in Ca2+-deficient photosystem II".Biochemistry.28 (23):8984–9.doi:10.1021/bi00449a005.PMID2557913.
^Faunce, Thomas A.;Lubitz, Wolfgang; Rutherford, A. W. (Bill); MacFarlane, Douglas; Moore, Gary F.; Yang, Peidong; Nocera, Daniel G.; Moore, Tom A.; Gregory, Duncan H.; Fukuzumi, Shunichi; Yoon, Kyung Byung; Armstrong, Fraser A.; Wasielewski, Michael R.; Styring, Stenbjorn (2013). "Energy and environment policy case for a global project on artificial photosynthesis".Energy & Environmental Science.6 (3): 695.Bibcode:2013EnEnS...6..695F.doi:10.1039/c3ee00063j.ISSN1754-5692.
