Govindjee,an institution,at his 80th (really 81st) birthday in Třeboň in October, 2013: a pictorial essay

Govindjee (one name only), who himself is an institution, has been recognized and honored by many in the past for he is a true ambassador of “Photosynthesis Research” to the World. He has been called “Mr. Photosynthesis”, and compared to the Great Wall of China. To us in T?eboň, he has been a great research collaborator in our understanding of chlorophyll a fluorescence in algae and in cyanobacteria, and more than that a friend of the Czech “Photosynthesis” group, from the time of Ivan ?etlík (1928–2009) and of Zdeněk ?esták (1932–2008). Govindjee’s 80th (really 81st) birthday was celebrated by the Institute of Microbiology, Laboratory of Photosynthesis, by toasting him with an appropriate drink of a suspension of green algae grown at the institute itself. After my presentation, on October 23, 2013, of Govindjee’s contributions to photosynthesis, and his intimate association with the photosynthetikers (in Jack Myers’s words) of the Czech Republic, Govindjee gave us his story of how he began research in photosynthesis in the late 1950s. This was followed by a talk on October 25 by him on “Photosynthesis: Stories of the Past.” Everyone enjoyed his animated talk—it was full of life and enjoyment. Here, I present a brief pictorial essay on Govindjee at his 80th (really 81st) birthday in T?eboň during October 23–25, 2013.     

Govindjee at 80: more than 50 years of free energy for photosynthesis

We provide here a glimpse of Govindjee and his pioneering contributions on the two light reactions and the two pigment systems, particularly on the water–plastoquinone oxido-reductase, Photosystem II. His focus has been on excitation energy transfer; primary photochemistry, and the role of bicarbonate in electron and proton transfer. His major tools have been kinetics and spectroscopy (absorption and fluorescence), and he has provided an understanding of both thermoluminescence and delayed light emission in plants and algae. He pioneered the use of lifetime of fluorescence measurements to study the phenomenon of photoprotection in plants and algae. He, however, is both a generalist and a specialist all at the same time. He communicates very effectively his passion for photosynthesis to the novice as well as professionals. He has been a prolific author, outstanding lecturer and an editor par excellence. He is the founder not only of the Historical Corner of Photosynthesis Research, but of the highly valued Series Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration Including Bioenergy and Related Processes. He reaches out to young people by distributing Z-scheme posters, presenting Awards of books, and through tri-annual articles on “Photosynthesis Web Resources”. At home, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he has established student Awards for Excellence in Biological Sciences. On behalf of all his former graduate students and associates, I wish him a Happy 80th birthday. I have included here several tributes to Govindjee by his well-wishers. These write-ups express the high regard the photosynthesis community holds for “Gov” and illuminate the different facets of his life and associations.     

Sergei Winogradsky: a founder of modern microbiology and the first microbial ecologist

Sergei Winogradsky, was born in Russia in 1856 and was to become a founder of modern microbiology. After his Master's degree work on the nutrition and growth physiology of the yeast Mycoderma vini at the University of St. Petersburg, he joined the laboratory of Anton DeBary in Strassburg. There he carried out his studies on the sulfur-oxidizing bacterium Beggiatoa which resulted in his formulation of the theory of chemolithotrophy. He then joined the Swiss Polytechnic Institute in Zurich where he did his monumental work on bacterial nitrification. He isolated the first pure cultures of the nitrifying bacteria and confirmed that they carried out the separate steps of the conversion of ammonia to nitrite and of nitrite to nitrate. This led directly to the concept of the cycles of sulfur and nitrogen in Nature. He returned to Russia and there was the first to isolate a free-living dinitrogen-fixing bacterium. In the flush of success, he retired from science and spent 15?years on his familial estate in the Ukraine. The Russian revolution forced him to flee Russia. He joined the Pasteur Institute in Paris where he spent his remaining 24?years initiating and developing the field of microbial ecology. He died in 1953.     

Photosystem II and the unique role of bicarbonate: A historical perspective

In photosynthesis, cyanobacteria, algae and plants fix carbon dioxide (CO(2)) into carbohydrates; this is necessary to support life on Earth. Over 50years ago, Otto Heinrich Warburg discovered a unique stimulatory role of CO(2) in the Hill reaction (i.e., O(2) evolution accompanied by reduction of an artificial electron acceptor), which, obviously, does not include any carbon fixation pathway; Warburg used this discovery to support his idea that O(2) in photosynthesis originates in CO(2). During the 1960s, a large number of researchers attempted to decipher this unique phenomenon, with limited success. In the 1970s, Alan Stemler, in Govindjee's lab, perfected methods to get highly reproducible results, and observed, among other things, that the turnover of Photosystem II (PSII) was stimulated by bicarbonate ions (hydrogen carbonate): the effect would be on the donor or the acceptor, or both sides of PSII. In 1975, Thomas Wydrzynski, also in Govindjee's lab, discovered that there was a definite bicarbonate effect on the electron acceptor (the plastoquinone) side of PSII. The most recent 1.9? crystal structure of PSII, unequivocally shows HCO(3)(-) bound to the non-heme iron that sits in-between the bound primary quinone electron acceptor, Q(A), and the secondary quinone electron acceptor Q(B). In this review, we focus on the historical development of our understanding of this unique bicarbonate effect on the electron acceptor side of PSII, and its mechanism as obtained by biochemical, biophysical and molecular biological approaches in many laboratories around the World. We suggest an atomic level model in which HCO(3)(-)/CO(3)(2-) plays a key role in the protonation of the reduced Q(B). In addition, we make comments on the role of bicarbonate on the donor side of PSII, as has been extensively studied in the labs of Alan Stemler (USA) and Vyacheslav Klimov (Russia). We end this review by discussing the uniqueness of bicarbonate's role in oxygenic photosynthesis and its role in the evolutionary development of O(2)-evolving PSII. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Photosynthesis Research for Sustainability: from Natural to Artificial.     

International conference on “Photosynthesis Research for Sustainability-2016”

During June 19–26, 2016, an international conference (http://photosynthesis2016.cellreg.org/) on “Photosynthesis Research for Sustainability-2016” was held in honor of Nathan Nelson and Turhan Nejat Veziro?lu at the Institute of Basic Biological Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, formerly Institute of Photosynthesis, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Pushchino, Russia. Further, this conference celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Institute. We provide here a brief introduction and key contributions of the two honored scientists, and then information on the conference, on the speakers, and the program. A special feature of this conference was the awards given to several young investigators, who are recognized in this Report. Several photographs are included to show the excellent ambience at this conference. We invite the readers to the next conference on “Photosynthesis and Hydrogen Energy Research for Sustainability-2017”, which will honor A.S. Raghavendra (of University of Hyderabad), William Cramer (of Purdue University) and Govindjee (of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign); it will be held during the Fall of 2017 (from October 30 to November 4), at the University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India. See <https://prs.science>.     

Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Bielitser--a gifted scientist and outstanding biochemist, a founder of the scientific school

Professor V. O. Belitser, Doctor of Science (biology), (30.09.1906, Ryazan, RF-04.03.1988 Kyiv, Ukraine), Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, graduated from the physico-mathematical faculty of the Moscow University in speciality "physico-chemical biology". In 1934-1943 he worked at the All-Union Institute of Experimental Medicine (Moscow) where he was engaged in research of the relation between the respiratory system and glycolytic reactions in the animal tissues. V. O. Belitser established the effect of creatin on the muscular respiration on the role of creative phosphate in this process. He was the first to demonstrate that the anaerobic phosphorylation is bound to respiration. He investigated stechiometric relations between the joint phosphate binding and oxygen absorption and estimated thermodynamic importance of this process, he showed that the energy of electron transfer from the substrate to oxygen is a source of formation of three ATP molecules per one atom of absorbed oxygen. From 1944 to 1988 V. O. Belitser worked at the Institute of Biochemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukr.SSR (Kyiv), where he headed the Laboratory of Enzymes (then proteins), and from 1966 he headed the Department of Protein Structure and Function; for a certain period (1969-1972) he headed the Institute as its director. Investigations of properties of native and denaturated proteins jointly with K. I. Kotkova led to the creation of blood substitute from blood serum proteins of cattle--BK-8. The school of V. O. Belitser is known by studying the molecular mechanism of one of the basic reactions of blood coagulation--fibrinogen transformation to fibrin, by finding out the organization and function of fibrinogen and fibrin. It was proved experimentally that the specific polymerization centres significance for the fibrin lattice formation are of essential significance for the fibrin lattice formation, that fibrinogen to fibrin transformation occurs in two stages--enzymatic and polymerizational ones. V. O. Belitser proposed the mechanism of fibrinogen transformation to fibrin, as soon as he had substantiated the kinetic theory of this reaction; domain structure of fibrinogen has been investigated. Such diagnostic tests as the methods of definition of the products of fibrinogen and fibrin splitting in urine (for differential diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases) were developed and put into medical practice under his guidance. V. O. Belitser and members of his school have published above 300 scientific works, prepared 5 doctors and 25 candidates of science. The selfless work of the scientists was honoured with high state awards--the Orders of Lenin, the Order of the Labour Red Banner, the Order of Oktober Revolution, that of Friendship of Peoples and with numerous medals.     

International conference on “Photosynthesis research for sustainability-2013: in honor of Jalal A. Aliyev”, held during June 5–9, 2013, Baku, Azerbaijan

In this brief report, we provide a pictorial essay on an international conference “Photosynthesis Research for Sustainability-2013 in honor of Jalal A. Aliyev” that was held in Baku, Azerbaijan, during June 5–9, 2013 (http://photosynthesis2013.cellreg.org/). We begin this report with a brief note on Jalal Aliyev, the honored scientist, and on John Walker (1997 Nobel laureate in Chemistry) who was a distinguished guest and lecturer at the Conference. We briefly describe the Conference, and the program. In addition to the excellent scientific program, a special feature of the Conference was the presentation of awards to nine outstanding young investigators; they are recognized in this report. We have also included several photographs to show the pleasant ambience at this conference. (See http://photosynthesis2013.cellreg.org/Photo-Gallery.php; https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qcr124dajwffwh6/TlcHBvFu4H?m; and https://www.copy.com/s/UDlxb9fgFXG9/Baku for more photographs taken by the authors as well as by others.) We invite the readers to the next conferences on “Photosynthesis Research for Sustainability—2014: in honor of Vladimir A. Shuvalov” to be held during June 2–7, 2014, in Pushchino, Russia. Detailed information for this will be posted at the Website: http://photosynthesis2014.cellreg.org/, and for the subsequent conference on “Photosynthesis Research for Sustainability—2015” to be held in May or June 2015, in Baku, Azerbaijan, at http://photosynthesis2015.cellreg.org/.     

Stories and photographs of William A. Arnold (1904–2001), a pioneer of photosynthesis and a wonderful friend

William A. Arnold discovered many phenomena in photosynthesis. In 1932, together with Robert Emerson, he provided the first experimental data that led to the concept of a large antenna and a few reaction centers (photosynthetic unit); in 1935, he obtained the minimum quantum requirement of 8–10 for the evolution of one O₂ molecule; in 1951, together with Bernard L. Strehler, he discovered delayed fluorescence (also known as delayed light emission) in photosynthetic systems; and in 1956, together with Helen Sherwood, he discovered thermoluminescence in plants. He is also known for providing a solid-state picture of photosynthesis. Much has been written about him and his research, including many articles in a special issue of Photosynthesis Research (Govindjee et al. (eds.) 1996); and a biography of Arnold, by Govindjee and Srivastava (William Archibald Arnold (1904–2001), 2014), in the Biographical Memoirs of the US National Academy of Sciences, (Washington, DC). Our article here offers a glimpse into the everyday life, through stories and photographs, of this remarkable scientist.     

Eric Kandel: the future of memory

Watching ice floes glide by on the Hudson River from Eric Kandel's office, one gets a sense of placid reflection tempered by constant action-an apt analogy for Kandel's ability to calmly manage several ongoing projects and commitments at once. In addition to his well-lauded, ongoing research at Columbia University Medical Center's New York State Psychiatric Institute, Kandel has written several books on neurobiology, behavior, and memory. In addition to being a Nobel Laureate Scientist, he is well-known as an editor of the seminal textbook Principles of Neural Science. He and his colleagues are in the midst of working on a new edition of Principles, and he is working on a scientific autobiography. MI sat down with Dr. Kandel and discussed with him a range of topics including childhood and early career influences, intramural research at the NIH, the HHMI, ethical considerations of altering memory and, of course, Aplysia.     

Removal of H2S by the purple sulphur bacterium Ectothiorhodospira shaposhnikovii

When Ectothiorhodospira shaposhnikovii VKM B-1525 was used for desuphurization of biogas in the laboratory and in a pilot plant, there was complete oxidation of H₂S, the main product being elemental sulphur. The advatage of this culture over green bacteria is discussed.M.B. Vainshtein, G.I. Gogotova and N.-J. Heinritz are with the Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino, Moscow Region, 142292 Russia     

Prasanna K. Mohanty (1934–2013): a great photosynthetiker and a wonderful human being who touched the hearts of many

Prasanna K. Mohanty, a great scientist, a great teacher and above all a great human being, left us more than a year ago (on March 9, 2013). He was a pioneer in the field of photosynthesis research; his contributions are many and wide-ranging. In the words of Jack Myers, he would be a “photosynthetiker” par excellence. He remained deeply engaged with research almost to the end of his life; we believe that generations of researchers still to come will benefit from his thorough and enormous work. We present here his life and some of his contributions to the field of Photosynthesis Research. The response to this tribute was overwhelming and we have included most of the tributes, which we received from all over the world. Prasanna Mohanty was a pioneer in the field of “Light Regulation of Photosynthesis”, a loving and dedicated teacher—unpretentious, idealistic, and an honest human being.     

Q & A: Alexander Varshavsky

Alexander Varshavsky is Smits Professor of Cell Biology at the California Institute of Technology. He moved to Caltech in 1992, after 15 years at the MIT's Department of Biology. He was born and educated in Russia, and was 30 at the time of his emigration to the U.S. in 1977. In Russia, and for a while at MIT, he studied the structure and replication of chromosomes. Over the last 24 years, the work of his laboratory focused on the ubiquitin system and closely related fields. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and has received the Gairdner Award, the Lasker Award, the General Motors Sloan Prize, the Wolf Prize, the Horwitz Prize, and the Wilson Medal.     

Roderick K. Clayton: a life,and some personal recollections

Roderick K. Clayton passed away on October 23, 2011, at the age of 89, shortly after the plan for this dedicatory issue of Photosynthesis Research had been hatched. I had just written a lengthy letter to him to re-establish contact after a hiatus of 2 or 3 years, and to suggest that I visit him to talk about his life. It isn’t clear whether he saw the letter or not, but it was found at his home in Santa Rosa, California. Fortunately, Rod has written two memoirs for Photosynthesis Research that not only cover much of his research on reaction centers (Photosynth Res 73:63–71, 2002) but also provide a humorous and honest look at his personal life (Photosynth Res 19:207–224, 1988). I cannot hope to improve on these and will try, instead, to fill in some of the gaps that Rod’s own writing has left, and offer some of my own personal recollections over the more recent years.     

What's new with the amnesic patient H.M.?

H.M. became amnesic in 1953. Since that time, nearly 100 investigators, first at the Montreal Neurological Institute and since 1966 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have participated in studying him. We all understand the rare opportunity we have had to work with him, and we are grateful for his dedication to research. He has taught us a great deal about the cognitive and neural organization of memory. We are in his debt.     

Dependence of 'macroscopic fluctuations" on geographic coordinates (from materials of Arctic (2000) and Antarctic (2001) expeditions

The detailed structure of histograms constructed from the results of synchronous measurements of the alpha-activity of 239Pu microsamples, conducted in Pushchino (Moscow Region, Russia) and on board the ship "Academician Fedorov" during the Arctic and Antarctic expeditions (2000 and 2001) was analyzed. It was shown that, if the histograms were constructed over a total period of 15 min and more, the "local zone effect" and the circadian periodicity in the similarity of histogram structure, observed during measurements in Pushchino, are not found in measurements on board the ship near the North Pole (latitude 82 degrees). If the histograms were constructed over a total time of 1 min, a strict periodicity ("stellar day" 23 h 56 min) in the appearance of similar histograms in Pushchino and the Arctic and a strict synchronicity of the appearance of similar histograms of measurements in Pushchino and on board the ship at the same local geographical time were observed. During the Antarctic expedition, the effect of synchronicity of the appearance of similar histograms in Pushchino and on board the ship decreased as the ship moved towards the South Pole and the difference in latitude between the points of measurements increased.     

Tribute in memory of Jacques Breton (1942–2018)

Photosynthesis Research - Jacques Breton spent his 39&nbsp;years of professional life at Saclay, a center of the French Atomic Energy Commission. He studied photosynthesis with various advanced...     

Ivan Djaja (Jean Giaja) and the Belgrade School of Physiology

The founder of physiology studies in the Balkans and the pioneer of research on hypothermia, Ivan Djaja (Jean Giaja) was born 1884 in L'Havre. Giaja gained his PhD at the Sorbonne in 1909. In 1910 he established the first Chair of Physiology in the Balkans and organized the first Serbian Institute for Physiology at the School of Philosophy of the University of Belgrade. He led this Institute for more than 40 subsequent years. His most notable papers were in the field of thermoregulation and bioenergetics. Djaja became member of the Serbian and Croatian academies of science and doctor honoris causa of Sorbonne. In 1952 for the seminal work on the behavior of deep cooled warm blooded animals he became associate member of the National Medical Academy in Paris. In 1955 the French Academy of Sciences elected him as associate member in place of deceased Sir Alexander Fleming. Djaja died in 1957 during a congress held in his honor. He left more than 200 scientific and other papers and the golden DaVincian credo "Nulla dies sine experimento". His legacy was continued by several generations of researchers, the most prominent among them being Stefan Gelineo, Radoslav Andjus and Vojislav Petrovi?.     

Science for the common good

A smile comes easily to the face of Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as he encounters visitors to his offices at the Institute. He does not, however, allow himself to be distracted from his duties for longer than it takes to nod warmly. The sense of discipline and the determination and preparedness that were instilled in him through a Jesuit course of education are apparent. He is as direct and as clear spoken in person as you've seen him on television, speaking on innumerable occasions over the past two decades about the pathology and treatment of AIDS, and more recently, delineating the public health from the national security issues precipitated by the bioterrorist events of the past year. The three office assistants who occupy his reception area have been particularly taxed in the management of Fauci's schedule since 9/11; as they pause briefly from their work to share photographs of a friend's recent wedding, Fauci is there to admonish them, semi-good-naturally, as government employees, to return to their official duties. He has been meeting with high government officials and has been courted by the media for interviews regularly since the tragedies began. Given his high profile, it is easy to forget that Fauci is, foremost, a clinical immunobiologist and physician. His dedication to science is part of his commitment to public service, also a value instilled in him by the Jesuits. Fortunately for all of us, Fauci was pursuing this combination of interests--within the venue of bioterrorism--in his official capacity at the NIAID well before the general public had awaken to the threat.