Researchers in the Netherlands and Russia have come a step closer to understanding how certain photosynthetic molecules convert solar energy. 

Plants gain energy directly from the sun via photosynthesis, a process involving several components for energy harvesting. Rienk van Grondelle at Vrije Universiteit and Vladimir Novoderezhkin at Moscow State University have looked at the structures and operation modes of several complexes responsible for using energy from the sun. 

 

Drawing on a variety of previous studies, van Grondelle and Novoderezhkin used both experiments and modelling to follow the energy flow between these complexes. They traced the intricate energy transfer pathways in plants and some bacteria involved in harvesting and using light energy to give a consistent physical picture of how photosynthetic complexes convert solar energy into sugars and starch.

Clare E Boothby