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This publication is unique among a number of books on cyanobacteria because it focuses on the bioenergetics of these widespread organisms which are the evolutionary prerequisite for the development of all higher forms of life on our "blue" planet. The book primarily addresses questions of energy conversion by the fundamental bioenergetic processes: (oxygenic) photosynthesis, (aerobic) respiration, and (anaerobic) fermentation which uniquely occur together in these prokaryotic cells. Thermophilic cyanobacteria offer the most suitable material for high resolution structure analyses of Photosystem I and II and other electron transport complexes by X-ray crystallography (for example, at present the structure of Photosystem II at atomic resolution is only known for these organisms). These achievements during the last decade represent a milestone in our understanding of the complexes which are crucial for solar energy exploitation through photosynthetic water splitting. The present work represents an ambitious attempt to achieve the goal of a synoptic state-of-the-art picture by casting together the mosaics of detailed knowledge described by leading experts in the field. It contains 24 chapters written by 35 authors from Europe, USA, India and Japan. The book is aimed at reaching a broad audience ranging from students to experienced scientists.
Part I: Cyanobacteria and their environment
1. Life implies work -- A holistic account of our microbial biosphere focusing on the bioenergetic processes of cyanobacteria, the ecologically most successful organisms on ou earth; Gunther A. Peschek et al. 2. The photosynthetic apparat of the living fossil, Cyanophora paradoxa; Jurgen M. Steiner, Wolfgang Loffelhardt
3. An alternate hypothesis for the origin of mitochondria; Roschen Sasikumar et al.
4. The complex regulation of the phosphate uptake system of cyanobacteria; Gernot Falkner, Renate Falkner
5. The site of respiratory electron transport in cyanobacteria and its implication for the photoinhibition of respiration; Ioan I. Ardelean, Gunther A. Peschek
6. Nitrogen fixation and hydrogen metabolism in cyanobacteria; Hermann Bothe et al.
7. Hydrogen peroxide degradation in cyanobacteria; Marcel Zamocky et al.
Part II: Cyanobacteria -- the first electric power plants ("discovery" of biological electron transport, the clue to most efficient bioenergetic processes)
8. History and function: The respiratory and photosynthetic electron transport chains; Peter Nicholls
9. Bioenergetics in a primordial cyanobacterium Gloeobacter violaceus PCC 7421; Mamoru Mimuro et al.
10. ATP synthase in cyanobacteria: structure, function and regulation of a complex machine; Dirk Bald
Part III: Cyanobacteria and light: Oxygenic photosynthesis (and other uses of light).
11. The evolution of cyanobacteria and photosynthesis; Gerhart Drews
12. Structure of cyanobacterial Photosystems I and II; Petra Fromme, Ingo Grotjohann
13. Mechanism of photosynthetic production and respiratory reduction of molecular dioxygen: A biophysical and biochemical comparison; Gernot Renger, Bernhard Ludwig
14. Photoprotection in cyanobacteria: The orange carotenoid protein and energy dissipation; Cheryl Kerfeld, Diane Kirilovsky
15. Manganese transport and the assembly of Photosystem II; Eitan Salomon et al.
Part IV: Electron entry (Dehydrogenation)
16. Structure and physiological function of NDH-I complexes in cyanobacteria; Eva-Mari Aro, Peter J. Nixon
17. The superfamily of succinate: quinine oxidoreductases and its implications for the cyanobacterial enzymes; C. Roy D. Lancaster
Part V: Connecting (-) and (+): Electron and protein circuits between dehydrogenases and oxygen reductases in cyanobacteria
18. The water soluble cytochromes of cyanobacteria; Kwok Ki Hio et al.
19. Transient interactions between soluble electron transfer proteins -- The case of plastocyanin and cytochrome f; Derek S. Bendall et al.
20. Center of the cyanobacterial electron transport network: the cytochrome b6f complex; Gabor Bernat, Matthias Roegner
21. The convergent evolution of cytochrome c6 and plastocyanin has been driven by geochemical changes; Miguel De la Rosa et al.
22. Flavodiiron proteins and their role in cyanobacteria; Vera L. Goncalves et al.
Part VI: Electron exit (terminal oxidation)
23. Survey of the various potential terminal oxidases and electron donors in cyanobacteria according to genomic records and biophysical investigations; Christian Obinger
Part VII: Progress in the genetic manipulation of cyanobacteria
24. Tools for genetic manipulation of cyanobacteria; Annegret Wilde, Dennis Dienst
Index
