Announcement

Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration, Volumes 15 and 16:

‘Respiration in Archaea and Bacteria’, edited by Davide Zannoni

The series ‘Advances in Photosynthesis’ has beenrecently enlarged to become ‘Advances in Photo-synthesis and Respiration’. I am delighted toannounce the publication of two beautiful volumesreviewing all aspects of prokaryotic respiration:Volume 15, edited by Davide Zannoni, is titled:‘Respiration in Archaea and Bacteria: Diversity ofProkaryotic Electron Transport Carriers’ and hasalready been published (see http://www.wkap.nl/prod/b/1-4020-2001-5). Volume 16, edited byDavide Zannoni, titled: ‘Respiration in Archaeaand Bacteria: Diversity of Prokaryotic RespiratorySystems’ is to be released in the near future. Thetwo volumes provide full coverage of the abovetopics, and are suitable sequels to the previous 14volumes in the ‘Advances in Photosynthesis andRespiration’ (AIPH) series.

Published volumes

(1) Molecular Biology of Cyanobacteria (DonaldA. Bryant, editor, 1994);

(2) Anoxygenic Photosynthetic Bacteria (RobertE. Blankenship, Michael T. Madigan andCarl E. Bauer, editors, 1995);

(3) Biophysical Techniques in Photosynthesis (JanAmeszy and Arnold J. Hoffy, editors, 1996);

(4) Oxygenic Photosynthesis: The Light Reactions(Donald R. Ort and Charles F. Yocum,editors, 1996);

(5) Photosynthesis and the Environment (Neil R.Baker, editor, 1996);

(6) Lipids in Photosynthesis: Structure, Functionand Genetics (Paul-Andre Siegenthaler andNorio Murata, editors, 1998);

(7) The Molecular Biology of Chloroplasts andMitochondria in Chlamydomonas (Jean DavidRochaix, Michel Goldschmidt-Clermont andSabeeha Merchant, editors, 1998);

(8) The Photochemistry of Carotenoids (Harry A.Frank, Andrew J. Young, George Brittonand Richard J. Cogdell, editors, 1999);

(9) Photosynthesis: Physiology and Metabolism(Richard C. Leegood, Thomas D. Sharkeyand Susanne von Caemmerer, editors, 2000);

(10) Photosynthesis: Photobiochemistry and Pho-tobiophysics (Bacon Ke, author, 2001);

(11) Regulation of Photosynthesis (Eva-Mari Aroand Bertil Andersson, editors, 2001);

(12) Photosynthetic Nitrogen Assimilation andAssociated Carbon and Respiratory Metabo-lism (Christine Foyer and Graham Noctor,editors, 2002);

(13) Light Harvesting Antennas (Beverley Greenand William Parson, editors, 2003);

(14) Photosynthesis in Algae (Anthony Larkum,Susan Douglas and John Raven, editors,2003).

See http://www.wkap.nl/series.html/AIPH forfurther information and to order these books.Please note that the members of the InternationalSociety of Photosynthesis Research, ISPR (http://www. Photosynthesis research.org) receive specialdiscounts.

Respiration in archaea and bacteria

I find it quite exciting to write this ‘Announce-ment’ sitting in 669 Morrill Hall of the Universityof Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, since just3 floors down are the office and the laboratory ofCarl Woese. Woese, along with others, discoveredthe ‘third form of life’, Archaea (other two formsof life being Bacteria and Eukarya). For this work,Carl Woese was recognized by the Award of thecoveted Crafoord Prize for Biosciences by theKing of Sweden on September 24, 2003. Asexplained in the ‘preface’ of Volume 15 by DavideZannoni, the respiratory systems of Archaea arehighly varied and distinct from those of Bacteria.� Deceased.

Photosynthesis Research 81: 201–204, 2004. 201

Volume 15: Respiration in Archaea and Bacteria:

diversity of prokaryotic electron transport carriers

We have known for decades that methanogenesisand bacterial photosynthesis are ancient ways ofenergy conservation because they can be per-formed in a primordial (anoxic) atmosphere. Onthe other hand, genomic and phylogenetic anal-yses indicate that some of the earliest forms oflife may have posessed elaborate electron transferchains with proteins necessary to reduce severalelectron acceptors such as oxygen, nitrate, sulfateand sulfur. Based on this, we might conclude thatrespiration in bacteria arose between three andfour million years ago (Mya) with a successivemultiple-lateral phylogenetic distribution in manylineages and specialized niches. Aerobic respira-tion, which also occurs in mitochondria of plantsand animals, is just one way that has evolved toconserve energy. Clearly, after the advent of anoxygen atmosphere by oxygenic phototrophs,aerobic respiration is most successful energyconserving process.

Volume 15 of the AIPH Series, edited byDavide Zannoni, one of the leading authorities inthis field, is unique in that it emphasizes the inte-gration of several disciplines (evolutionary biol-ogy, biochemistry, microbiology, moleculargenetics and biophysics) with the goal to define indetail the complexity of the respiratory chains inmicroorganisms belonging to Bacteria andArchaea. The contributing authors describe clearlythe current state of knowledge as well as indicateresearch areas deserving of future exploration.This volume treats the main aspects of bacterialrespiratory complexes and electron transport car-riers, focusing on their structural and functionalaspects along with their assembly and regulation.There are many exciting chapters, starting with anoverview on the evolution of respiration, and itcovers both proton- and sodium-translocatingNADH:quinone oxidoreductases along with suc-cinate:quinone and quinol:fumarate oxidoreduc-tases. Other chapters illustrate recent advances onthe function and structure of the quinol:cyt coxidoreducase, bacterial cytochrome c biogenesis,as well as what we know about the structure andfunction of the quinol- and cytochrome-c respira-tory oxidases. It was Zannoni who, building on thepioneering genetic studies by Barry Marrs, re-ported the first example of a cytochrome c oxidase

having a functional high-potential b-type heme. Atfirst considered to be an artifact, this is now rec-ognized as being part of a large group of respira-tory oxidases known as the cbb3 or FixN-typeoxidases. It is just one of many examples of theenormous diversity of respiratory enzymes thathave evolved in prokaryotes. In this respect it isworth noting that the prokaryotic species de-scribed so far represent less than 0.1% of thoseestimated by molecular approaches to be actuallypresent in nature. I am quite confident that therewill be many more exciting surprises in terms ofthe complexity and variety of redox proteins in-volved in respiration. In the light of these newperspectives Zannoni had invited authorities towrite a series of chapters on molybdenum andpyrroloquinoline quinone containing enzymes andalso a chapter on the role of bacterial hemoglobinsin respiration and nitric oxide metabolism. Volume15 ends with an interesting chapter on the newlydiscovered role of a cbb3 oxidase as a redox sensorregulating synthesis of photosynthetic componentsin R. sphaeroides. In this way, Zannoni has comefull circle to the oxidase that has been closest to hisheart. In view of my own interests in photochem-istry and bioenergetics, the chapters that deal withthe photosynthetic pigments have made me veryhappy. I have certainly learned a great deal aboutrespiration by reading Volume 15 of the AIPHSeries.

Volume 16: Respiration in Archaea and Bacteria:

diversity of prokaryotic respiratory systems

Volume 16 of Advances in Photosynthesis andRespiration, to be released in the near future,contains a series of exciting chapters, starting withan overview on the respiratory chains and bioen-ergetics of Archaea. This is followed by chaptersanalyzing the aerobic respiration in Gram-positivebacteria, the respiratory chains in the pathogenicgenera Helicobacter and Campylobacter, therespiratory systems in acetic acid bacteria. There isalso a chapter on the energetic demand of respi-ration in nitrogen fixing bacteria (genera Rhizo-bium) which contain cbb3-type oxidases with aremarkably high affinity for oxygen. It is this lattertype of oxidase that was described 30 years ago byZannoni in the facultative phototroph, Rhodob-acter capsulatus. It is now established that the

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genera Rhizobium (an obligate-aerobe) and Rho-dobacter (a phototroph-anaerobe) are phyloge-netically closer than previously thought on thebasis of their metabolic differences. They are bothnow classified as being within the a-subdivision ofthe proteobacteria.

In the light of the contrasting or convergingfeatures reflecting the type of habitat in which thevarious bacterial species exist, Zannoni has invitedauthorities to write six chapters having importantmicrobiological and ecological relevance. Thesechapters describe aerobic respiratory systems uti-lizing ammonium, methane, iron, sulfur andhydrogen as well as anaerobic respiration of ni-trous compounds The book ends with two chap-ters dedicated to facultative phototrophs. Onechapter deals, appropriately, with respiration incyanobacteria, the microorganisms unanimouslyaccepted as the ‘creators’ of the present aerobicatmosphere. The last chapter covers the intriguingtopic of the interaction (structural and functional)between photosynthesis and respiration in facul-tative phototrophs, the microrganisms which havebeen studied extensively by Zannoni for almostthree decades.

For further details on the two volumes, I referthe readers to the two table of contents of Respi-ration in Archaea and Bacteria, as well as the twoPrefaces by Davide Zannoni.

Lastly, I quote a joint statement by two influ-ential plant physiolgists: F.F. Blackman (anEnglishman) and P. Parija (an Indian) (1928) aboutrespiration: ‘Of all protoplasmic functions, the onewhich is, by tradition, most closely linked with ourconception of vitality is the function for which thename of respiration has been accepted.’ Thus, I amlooking forward to further discussions on respira-tion of other systems, e.g., ‘Plant Respiration’(being edited by Hans Lambers and Miquel Ribas-Carbo) and ‘Plant Mitochondria’ (being edited byDavid Day, Harvey Millar and James Whelan) inthe Advances in Photosynthesis and RespirationSeries. It is ironic that, in the early days, one of themajor efforts of some plant physiologists was to getrid of bacterial respiration in their tissues.

The scope of the series

Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration is abook series that provides, at regular intervals, a

comprehensive and state-of-the-art account ofresearch in various areas of photosynthesis andrespiration. Photosynthesis is the process bywhich higher plants, algae, and certain species ofbacteria transform and store solar energy in theform of energy-rich organic molecules. Thesecompounds are, in turn, used as the energysource for all growth and reproduction in theseand almost all other organisms. As such, virtuallyall life on the planet ultimately depends on pho-tosynthetic energy conversion. Respiration, whichoccurs in mitochondria and in bacterialmembranes, utilizes energy present in organicmolecules to fuel a wide range of metabolicreactions critical for cell growth and develop-ment. In addition, many photosynthetic organ-isms engage in energetically wastefulphotorespiration that begins in the chloroplastwith an oxygenation reaction catalyzed by thesame enzyme responsible for capturing carbondioxide in photosynthesis. This series of booksspans topics from physics to agronomy andmedicine, from femtosecond (10)15 s) processes toseason long production, from the photophysics ofreaction centers, through the electrochemistry ofintermediate electron transfer, to the physiologyof whole organisms, and from X-ray crystallog-raphy of proteins to the morphology of organ-elles and intact organisms. The intent of the seriesis to offer beginning researchers, advancedundergraduate students, graduate students, andresearch specialists, a comprehensive, up-to-datepicture of the remarkable advances across the fullscope of research on bioenergetics and carbonmetabolism.

Future books

The readers of the current series are encouraged towatch for the publication of the forthcomingbooks (not necessarily arranged in the order offuture appearance):

(1) Chlorophylls and Bacteriochlorophylls: Bio-chemistry, Biophysics and Biological Function(Bernhard Grimm, Robert J. Porra, WolfhartRudiger and Hugo Scheer, editors);

(2) Chlorophyll a Fluorescence: A Signature ofPhotosynthesis (George Papageorgiou andGovindjee, editors);

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(3) Photosystem II: The Water/PlastoquinoneOxido-reductase in Photosynthesis (ThomasJ. Wydrzynski and Kimiyuki Satoh, editors);

(4) Plant Respiration: from Cells to Ecology(Hans Lambers and Miquel Ribas-Carbo,editors);

(5) Plant Mitochondria: From Genome to Func-tion (David A. Day, Harvey Millar and JamesWhelan, editors);

(6) Photosystem I: The Plastocyanin/FerredoxinOxidoreductase in Oxygenic Photosynthesis(John Golbeck, editors);

(7) Photoprotection, Photoinhibition, Gene Regu-lation and Environment (Barbara Demmig-Adams, William W. Adams III and AutarMattoo, editors);

(8) Photosynthesis: A Comprehensive Treatise;Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biol-ogy, 2 volumes (Julian Eaton-Rye andBaishnab Tripathy, editors);

(9) The Structure and Function of Plastids(Kenneth Hoober and Robert Wise, editors);and

(10) History of Photosynthesis Research(Govindjee, J. Thomas Beatty, John Allenand Howard Gest, editors).

In addition to these contracted books, we areinterested in publishing several other books. Top-ics under consideration are: Molecular Biologyof Stress in Plants; Global Aspects of Photo-synthesis and Respiration; Protein Complexes ofPhotosynthesis and Respiration; Biochemistry andBiophysics of Respiration; Protonation and ATPSynthesis; Functional Genomics; The Cyto-chromes; Laboratory Methods for StudyingLeaves and Whole Plants; and C-3 and C-4 Plants.

Readers are requested to send their suggestionsfor these and future volumes (topics, names ofpotential editors, and of potential authors) to meby e-mail (gov@uivc.edu) or fax (+1-217-244-7246).

In view of the interdisciplinary character of re-search in photosynthesis and respiration, it is myearnest hope that this series of books will be used in

educating students and researchers not only in PlantSciences, Molecular and Cell Biology, IntegrativeBiology, Biotechnology, Agricultural Sciences,Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Biophysics, butalso in Bioengineering, Chemistry and Physics.

I take this opportunity to thank Davide Zan-noni for his timely and prompt editorial work; heis one of the most efficient editors I have encoun-tered in many years. Respiration in Archaea andBacteria: Diversity of Prokaryotic ElectronTransport Carriers (Volume 15) and Respiration inArchaea and Bacteria: Diversity of ProkaryoticRespiratory Systems (Volume 16) were possiblebecause of the authors of these two volumes:without their authoritative chapters, there wouldbe no book. I owe Larry Orr special thanks for hisfriendly and wonderful work as always. Thanksare also due to Jacco Flipsen, and Noeline Gibson(both of Kluwer Academic Publishers), and JeffHaas (Director of Information Technology, LifeSciences, University of Illinois) for their support.My wife Rajni Govindjee deserves my specialpraise for being a role model for my life and well-being. Our daughter Anita Govindjee and herhusband Morten Christiansen provided facilities atthe time these volumes were being prepared forpublication. Baishnab Charan Tripathy, of theJawaharlal Nehru University, was a generous hostduring the months of December (2003), January(2004) and February (2004). Finally, I thankRobert Gennis for valuable suggestions during thepreparation of this ‘Announcement’.

GovindjeeSeries Editor, Advances in Photosynthesis

and RespirationDepartment of Plant Biology

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign265 Morrill Hall

505 South Goodwin AvenueMC-116

Urbana, IL 61801-3707, USAE-mail: gov@uiuc.edu

URL: http://www/life.uiuc.edu/govindjee

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