ABSTRACT
Several similarities exist between human vision and photosynthesis. Both systems must be able to (1) maximize light absorption under low-light conditions and (2) cope with exposure to intense light that has the potential to cause damage. This requires the ability to not only absorb enough photons to discern the visual nature of objects at extremely low levels of visible light, for example at night, on part of the eye and to energize the photochemistry of photosynthesis during early morning or afternoon/evening hours on part of the leaves, respectively, but also minimize photodamage from the intense light of a cloudless day via photoprotective mechanisms employed by both eyes and leaves. Despite the fact that information is derived from the photons gathered for vision whereas a source of chemical energy (for sugar production) is derived from the photons gathered by leaves’ chloroplasts, the solutions to the challenge of exibly switching from efcient light harvesting under low light to powerful photoprotection in high light are remarkably similar in eyes and photosynthesis.
