Taking snapshots of photosynthetic water oxidation: simultaneous X-ray spectroscopy and crystallography

The objective of this project is to study the overall protein structure and dynamics, as well as the chemical structure and dynamics of the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) of the Photosystem II membrane bound protein, that catalyses the light-driven water oxidation reaction in nature. We plan to elucidate the mechanism of the OEC by which water is oxidized to dioxygen using the expertise among the collaborators. We combine crystallography, that probes the overall protein structure and its changes, with X-ray spectroscopy, that probes the local environment (Mn and Ca) of the OEC.