The 6.5 kDa PSII subunit PsbZ (ycf9 in Chlamydomonas) is coded by an open reading frame that is ubiquitously present in chloroplast and cyanobacterial genomes. PsbZ seems to control the interaction of PSII cores with the light-harvesting antenna involving changes in protein phosphorylation within PSII units, the deepoxidation state of xanthophylls, and the kinetics and amplitude of nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ).