The invention of oxygenic photosynthesis was a small step for a bacterium, but a giant leap for biology and geochemistry. So when and how did cells first learn to split water to make oxygen gas?
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Priestley, J. Phil. Trans. 62, 147–264 (1772).
Blankenship, R. E. Molecular Mechanisms of Photosynthesis (Blackwell Science, Oxford, 2002).
Bekker, A. et al. Nature 427, 117–120 (2004).
Olson, J. M. Photosynth. Res. 88, 109–117 (2006).
Tomitani, A., Knoll, A. H., Cavanaugh, C. M. & Ohno, T. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 103, 5442–5447 (2006).
Tice, M. M. & Lowe, D. R. Geology 34, 37–40 (2006).
Kasting, J. F. Nature 443, 643–645 (2006).
Russell, M. J. & Hall, A. J. in Evolution of Early Earth's Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, and Biosphere — Constraints from Ore Deposits (eds Kesler, S. E. & Ohmoto, H.) 1–32 (Geol. Soc. Am., Boulder, CO, 2006).
Bryant, D. A. & Frigaard, N.-U. Trends Microbiol. 14, 488–496 (2006).
Raymond, J., Zhaxybayeva, O., Gogarten, J. P. & Blankenship, R. E. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 358, 223–230 (2003).
Baymann, F., Brugna, M., Muhlenhoff, U. & Nitschke, W. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1507, 291–310 (2001).
Xiong, J. et al. Science 289, 1724–1730 (2000).
Mulkidjanian, A. Y. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 103, 13126–13131 (2006).
Schubert, W. D. et al. J. Mol. Biol. 280, 297–314 (1998).
Yano, J. et al. Science 314, 821–825 (2006).
Sauer, K. & Yachandra, V. K. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 99, 8631–8636 (2002).
Anbar, A. D. & Holland, H. D. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 56, 2595–2603 (1992).
Hakala, M. et al. J. Exp. Bot. 57, 1809–1816 (2006).
Rutherford, A. W. & Faller, P. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 358, 245–253 (2003).
Lane, N. Oxygen: The Molecule that Made the World (Oxford Univ. Press, 2002).
Govindjee & Krogmann, D. in Discoveries in Photosynthesis (eds Govindjee, Beatty, J. T., Gest, H. & Allen, J. F.) 63–105 (Springer, Dordrecht, 2005).
Allen, J. F. FEBS Lett. 579, 963–968 (2005).
Oren, A. & Padan, E. J. Bacteriol. 133, 558–563 (1978).
Koenig, F. Bot. Acta 103, 54–61 (1990).
Allen, J. F. & Puthiyaveetil, S. in Photosynthesis: Fundamental Apects to Global Perspectives (eds van der Est, A. & Bruce, D.) 753–756 (Alliance Communications Group, Lawrence, KS, 2005).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Allen, J., Martin, W. Out of thin air. Nature 445, 610–612 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/445610a
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/445610a
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
Archean Biogeochemical Cognizance from Dharwar Craton, India — A Review
Journal of the Geological Society of India (2022)
-
Exploring natural variation of photosynthesis in a site-specific manner: evolution, progress, and prospects
Planta (2019)
-
Evolution of the acceptor side of photosystem I: ferredoxin, flavodoxin, and ferredoxin-NADP+ oxidoreductase
Photosynthesis Research (2017)
-
Major problems in evolutionary transitions: how a metabolic perspective can enrich our understanding of macroevolution
Biology & Philosophy (2016)
-
Manganese and the Evolution of Photosynthesis
Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres (2015)