Alexander V. Ruban 
The Photosynthetic Membrane 
Molecular Mechanisms and Biophysics of Light Harvesting

The proteins that gather light for plant photosynthesis are
embedded within cell membranes in a site called the thylakoid
membrane (or the ‘photosynthetic membrane’). These proteins
form the light harvesting antenna that feeds with energy a number
of vital photosynthetic processes such as water oxidation and
oxygen evolution, the pumping of protons across the thylakoid
membranes coupled with the electron transport chain of the
photosystems and cytochrome b6f complex, and ATP synthesis by ATP
synthase utilizing the generated proton gradient.

The Photosynthetic Membrane: Molecular Mechanisms and Biophysics
of Light Harvesting is an introduction to the fundamental design
and function of the light harvesting photosynthetic membrane, one
of the most common and most important structures of life. It
describes the underlying structure of the membrane, the variety and
roles of the membrane proteins, the atomic structures of light
harvesting complexes and their macromolecular assemblies, the
molecular mechanisms and dynamics of light harvesting and primary
energy transformations, and the broad range of adaptations to
different light environments. The book shows, using the
example of the photosynthetic membrane, how complex biological
structures utilize principles of chemistry and physics in order to
carry out biological functions.
The Photosynthetic Membrane: Molecular Mechanisms of Light
Harvesting will appeal to a wide audience of undergraduate and
postgraduate students as well as researchers working in the fields
of biochemistry, molecular biology, biophysics, plant science and
bioengineering.

Про автора

Professor Alexander V. Ruban, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, UK. Professor Ruban is a Professor in Biophysics at Queen Mary University of London and holds a ‘Professeur des Universites (Biochimie et biologie moleculaire)’ title awarded by the French Ministry of Education. He obtained his Ph D at the Institute of Plant Physiology at the Academy of Sciences of the Ukraine. His research has been instrumental in the discovery of the molecular basis of photoprotection in LHCII and the in vivo configuration and dynamics of higher plant xanthophylls in the thylakoid membrane. The Ruban Lab at Queen Mary is engaged in mechanistic photosynthesis research with a multidisciplinary approach applies molecular spectroscopy, biophysics and biochemistry to important problems in plant physiology, specifically, the role of the various components (proteins, lipids, pigments) and macrostructure in the functions and adaptive mechanisms of the photosynthetic membrane related to light harvesting and photoprotection in plants and algae. In addition, professor Ruban is interested in the universal properties of carotenoids in biological membranes, the molecular dynamics of these molecules in the modulation of membrane protein conformation and their functions.