Photosynthetica X:X | DOI: 10.32615/ps.2026.007

A life in light: celebrating the 75th birthday of Professor Suleyman I. Allakhverdiev

B.D. BRUCE1, T. TATSUYA2, G. GOVINDJEE3, G. GARAB10, A S. RAGHAVENDRA4, S. RAMAKRISHNA5, A. LARKUM6, J.J. EATON-RYE11, J.R. SHEN†, R. SUBRAMANYAM4, M.M. NAJAFPOUR††
1 Departments of BCMB, Microbiology, and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering; Genome Science and Technology and Energy Science and Engineering Programs, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
3 Tokyo University of Science, Institute of Arts and Sciences, Kagurazaka Division, Tokyo, Japan2 Departments of Plant Biology, and Biochemistry & Center for Biophysics & Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
5 Institute of Plant Biology, HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, 6726 Szeged, Hungary; Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic10 Department of Plant Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India4 Department of Mechanical Engineering and iWearables Center, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China Department of Plant Sciences, University of Sydney, & University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Sydney, Australia6 Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand11 Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Science, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan† Department of Chemistry, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran & K. A. Timiryazev Institute of Plant Physiology RAS, Moscow, Russia††

This Special Issue of Photosynthetica is dedicated to celebrating the distinguished scientific life and 75th birthday of Professor Suleyman I. Allakhverdiev (born 1 August 1950), whose contributions have left an enduring mark on modern photosynthesis research, photobiology, and bioenergetics. His pioneering studies of Photosystem II advanced the field in fundamental ways, including establishing pheophytin as the primary electron acceptor, defining the functional Mn₄ water-oxidizing cluster and its reconstitution, and clarifying the redox properties of key cofactors such as QA, QB, and P680. He also significantly deepened understanding of photoinhibition by distinguishing donor- and acceptor-side processes and illuminating broader roles for bicarbonate in proton management and repair. Building on these mechanistic insights, his work helped inspire artificial photosynthesis, catalytic systems for water oxidation and hydrogen evolution, and biohybrid energy platforms. As a scholar, editor, organizer, mentor, and scientific diplomat, Professor Allakhverdiev has built a truly global legacy that this Special Issue is proud to honor.

Additional key words: applied photosynthesis; artificial photosynthesis; electron transfer; hydrogen production; pheophytin; photoinhibition; water oxidation; water-oxidizing complex.

Received: March 10, 2026; Revised: April 5, 2026; Accepted: April 7, 2026; Prepublished online: May 18, 2026 

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    References

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