Granal thylakoid structure and function: explaining an enduring mystery of higher plants

• Published in: The New phytologist Vol. 236; no. 2; pp. 319 - 329
• Main Authors: Gu, Lianhong, Grodzinski, Bernard, Han, Jimei, Marie, Telesphore, Zhang, Yong‐Jiang, Song, Yang C., Sun, Ying
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.10.2022; Wiley-Blackwell; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: air; BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; Bellows; Carbon - metabolism; Collision dynamics; cytochrome b6f complex; Cytochromes; Cytochromes - metabolism; Drought; Dynamics; electron transfer; Electron transport; Embryophyta - metabolism; evolution; Fluxes; Forum; Gas exchange; grana; grana stacks; Guard cells; Homeostasis; Irradiance; Lamellae; light intensity; Lumens; Macromolecules; pH effects; Photosynthesis; Photosynthesis - physiology; Photosystem II Protein Complex - metabolism; Photosystems; Plants (botany); probability; Probability theory; Stacks; Stomata; Stomatal conductance; Stroma; stroma lamellae; Structure-function relationships; thylakoid; thylakoids; Thylakoids - metabolism; Transport; Turgor; Viewpoints; Water - metabolism; cytochrome b6f complex; stroma lamellae; electron transport; grana stacks; thylakoid; photosystems

Summary In higher plants, photosystems II and I are found in grana stacks and unstacked stroma lamellae, respectively. To connect them, electron carriers negotiate tortuous multi‐media paths and are subject to macromolecular blocking. Why does evolution select an apparently unnecessary, inefficient...