Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Photosynthesis Research (2019) 139:15–43 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-018-0590-0 HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY A sixty-year tryst with photosynthesis and related processes: an informal personal perspective Govindjee 1 Received: 2 August 2018 / Accepted: 1 October 2018 / Published online: 20 October 2018 © Springer Nature B.V. 2018 Abstract After briefy describing my early collaborative work at the University of Allahabad, that had laid the foundation of my research life, I present here some of our research on photosynthesis at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, randomly selected from light absorption to NADP + reduction in plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. These include the fact that (i) both the light reactions I and II are powered by light absorbed by chlorophyll (Chl) a of diferent spectral forms; (ii) light emission (fuorescence, delayed fuorescence, and thermoluminescence) by plants, algae, and cyanobacteria provides detailed information on these reactions and beyond; (iii) primary photochemistry in both the photosystems I (PS I) and II (PS II) occurs within a few picoseconds; and (iv) most importantly, bicarbonate plays a unique role on the electron acceptor side of PS II, specifcally at the two-electron gate of PS II. Currently, the ongoing research around the world is, and should be, directed towards making photosynthesis better able to deal with the global issues (such as increasing population, dwin- dling resources, and rising temperature) particularly through genetic modifcation. However, basic research is necessary to continue to provide us with an understanding of the molecular mechanism of the process and to guide us in reaching our goals of increasing food production and other chemicals we need for our lives. Keywords Bicarbonate efect · Chlorophyll a fuorescence · Photosystem II · Primary photochemistry · State changes · Thermoluminescence “The firefly seems afire, the sky looks flat; Yet sky and fly are neither this nor that” Panchatantra (see Ryder 1925) Introduction Before I begin saying anything about my work, I wish to let the readers know that what I have accomplished is because of interactions with many individuals especially my past graduate students (see “ Appendix”). I owe them my grati- tude and thanks for working with me; what I am today is because of them. I have included here photographs of those that were available on my computer. In my perspective, I have included some stories, but it is important to recognize upfront that diferent individuals may have diferent recol- lections of the same event (see e.g., Schacter 2012; Eayrs and Lavie 2018; and a 1951 Japanese movie “Rashomon” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashomon 1 ). My presentation here is only partly based on the talk I gave at the University of Hyderabad at the 8th International Conference on Photo- synthesis and Hydrogen Energy Research for Sustainability (see the 2nd item at: http://www.life.illinois.edu/govindjee/ world-historical.html). I dedicate this Tryst in research to my mentors: Shri Ranjan of Allahabad University, India (1899–1969), Robert Emerson (1903–1959), and Eugene I. Rabinowitch (1901–1973) of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA. * Govindjee gov@illinois.edu http://www.life.illillois.edu/govindjee 1 Department of Plant Biology, Department of Biochemistry, Center of Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA 1 I thank Morten Christiansen (of Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Cor- nell University, Ithaca) and Sanjram P. Khanganba (of Human Factors & Applied Cognition Lab, Indian Institute of Technology, Indore) for the references and discussions on this topic.