page_title: Photosynthetic reaction centre protein family
hierarchical_section_title: Photosynthetic reaction centre protein family
caption_attribution_description: English: Schematic drawing of the 3D structure of the photosynthetic reaction center[1] from Rhodopseudomonas viridis. The membrane is shown as pale yellow, bacteriochlorophylls are green, hemes in the cytochrome are red, and transmembrane alpha-helices are gold cylinders. This was the first crystal structure of a membrane protein, earning a Nobel Prize in 1988. Coordinates from PDB: 1PRC&#8203;; drawn by Jane Richardson, scanned and touched up by David Richardson.
context_page_description: Photosynthetic reaction centre proteins are main protein components of photosynthetic reaction centres of bacteria and plants. They are transmembrane proteins embedded in the chloroplast thylakoid or bacterial cell membrane.
  Plants have one type of PRC for each of its two photosystems. Non-oxygenic bacteria, on the other hand, have an RC resembling either the Photosystem I centre or the Photosystem II centre. In either case, PRCs have two related proteins making up a quasi-symmetrical 5-helical core complex with pockets for pigment binding. The two types are structurally related and share a common ancestor. Each type have different pockets for ligands to accommodate their specific reactions: while Type I RCs use iron sulfur clusters to accept electrons, Type II RCs use quinones. The centre units of Type I RCs also have six extra transmembrane helices for gathering energy.
context_section_description: Photosynthetic reaction centre proteins are main protein components of photosynthetic reaction centres (RCs) of bacteria and plants. They are transmembrane proteins embedded in the chloroplast thylakoid or bacterial cell membrane.
  Plants have one type of PRC for each of its two photosystems. Non-oxygenic bacteria, on the other hand, have an RC resembling either the Photosystem I centre (Type I) or the Photosystem II centre (Type II). In either case, PRCs have two related proteins (L/M; D1/D2; PsaA/PsaB) making up a quasi-symmetrical 5-helical core complex with pockets for pigment binding. The two types are structurally related and share a common ancestor. Each type have different pockets for ligands to accommodate their specific reactions: while Type I RCs use iron sulfur clusters to accept electrons, Type II RCs use quinones. The centre units of Type I RCs also have six extra transmembrane helices for gathering energy.
caption: Structure of the photosynthetic reaction centre from Rhodopseudomonas viridis (PDB: 1PRC​). Middle transmembrane section is the two subunits in this family; green blocks represent chlorophyll. Top section is the 4-heme (red) cytochrome c subunit (infobox below). The bottom section along with its connected TM helices is the H subunit.
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