Introduction

Celebrating the millennium ‚ historical highlights of photosynthesis research Govindjee, J. T. Beatty, and H. Gest

Photosynthesis research: advances through molecular biology - the beginnings, 1975-1980s and on... L. Bogorad

Mapping the carbon reduction cycle: a personal retrospective J. A. Bassham

Affixing the O to Rubisco: discovering the source of photorespiratory glycolate and its regulation W. L. Ogren

Period-four oscillations of the flash induced oxygen formation in photosynthesis P. Joliot

Linking the xanthophyll cycle with thermal energy dissipation B. Demmig-Adams

Electron donors and acceptors in the initial steps of photosynthesis in purple bacteria: a personal account W. W. Parson

 

Tributes

Hydrogen metabolism of green algae: discovery and early research - a tribute to Hans Gaffron and his coworkers P. H. Homann

Contributions of Henrik Lundegardh A. W. D. Larkum

 

Anoxygenic Photosynthesis

Discovery and characterization of electron transfer proteins in the photosynthetic bacteria T. E. Meyer and M. A. Cusanovich

Membrane-anchored cytochrome c as an electron carrier in photosynthesis and respiration: past, present, and future of an unexpected discovery F. Daldal, M. Deshmukh, and R. C. Prince

'Every dogma has its day': a personal look at carbon metabolism in photosynthetic bacteria J. Ormerod

Light-induced behavioral responses ('phototaxis') in prokaryotes J. P. Armitage and K. J. Hellingwerf

Anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria from extreme environments M. T. Madigan

Evolutionary relationships among photosynthetic bacteria R. S. Gupta

 

Oxygenic Photosynthesis

Chloroplast structure, Membranes and Chromoprotein Complexes

Chloroplast structure: from chlorophyll granules to supra-molecular architecture of thylakoid membranes L. A. Staehelin

Phycobiliproteins and phycobilisomes: the early observations N. Tandeau de Marsac

A molecular understanding of complementary chromatic adaptation A. R. Grossman

The contribution of photosynthetic pigments to the development of biochemical separation methods: 1900-1980 P. Albertsson

Physical separation of chlorophyll-protein complexes T. Ogawa

The identification of the Photosystem II reaction center: a personal story K. Satoh

 

Excitation Energy Transfer and Electron Carriers

Excitation transfer between photosynthetic units: the 1964 experiment P. Joliot and A. Joliot

Discovery of pheophytin function in the photosynthetic energy conversion as the primary electron acceptor of Photosystem II V. V. Klimov

Early research on the role of plastocyanin in photosynthesis S. Katoh

 

Electron Transfer and Oxygen Evolution

The isolated Photosystem II reaction center: first attempts to directly measure the kinetics of primary charge separation M. Seibert and M. R. Wasielewski

Apparatus and mechanism of photosynthetic oxygen evolution: a personal perspective G. Renger

On some aspects of photosynthesis revealed by photoacoustic studies: a critical evaluation R. Delosme

The history of photosynthetic thermoluminescence I. Vass

 

Carbon Fixation

Chloroplasts in envelopes: CO2 fixation by fully functional intact chloroplasts D. A. Walker

Crassulacean acid metabolism photosynthesis: 'working the night shift' C. C. Black and C. B. Osmond

 

Photoinhibition

Photoinhibition - a historical perspective N. Adir, H. Zer, S. Shochat, and I. Ohad

 

Chloroplast Genomics

History of chloroplast genomics M. Sugiura

 

Photosynthesis Laboratories and Research Around the World

Photosynthesis and the Charles F. Kettering Research Laboratory L. P. Vernon

Chlorophyll isolation, structure and function: major landmarks of the history of research in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union A. A. Krasnovsky Jr.

Studies of chlorophyll biosynthesis in Russia O. B. Belyaeva

The beginnings of research on biophysics of photosynthesis and initial contributions made by Russian scientists to its development A. Borisov

Photosynthesis research in Greece: a historical snapshot (1960-2001) G. C. Papageorgiou

Photosynthesis research in India: transition from yield physiology into molecular biology A. S. Raghavendra, P. V. Sane, and P. Mohanty

Photosynthesis research in the People's Republic of China T. Kuang, C. Xu, L. Li, and Y. Shen