The assembly of Mn(2+) ions into the H(2)O oxidation complex (WOC) of the photosystem II (PSII) reaction center is a light-driven process, termed photoactivation. According to the "two-quantum" model, photoactivation involves two light-driven charge separations coupled to the photooxidation of Mn(2+) in order to form the first stable intermediate in a process that culminates in the oxidative assembly of four Mn(2+) ions and one Ca(2+) ion to form the active, higher valence (Mn(4)-Ca) center of the WOC. To better define the kinetics of the dark rearrangement and to gain some understanding of the basis for the very low quantum yield of the overall process, photoactivation experiments, involving different flash patterns, were conducted with Synechocystis sp. PCC6803. It was found that even the so-called first stable intermediate is readily lost during protracted (1-10 s) dark periods during photoactivation of Synechocystis cells. Low concentrations of the electron acceptor, DCBQ, improved the stability of the dark intermediates. The unstable photoactivation intermediates formed early in the photoactivation process were not, however, stabilized by the addition of Ca(2+), although the overall yield of photoactivation is enhanced by the additional Ca(2+). Measurements of the kinetics of fluorescence yield verify that Q(A)(-) to Q(B) electron transfer rates change during the course of photoactivation as the high potential form of Q(A)(-) is converted to the low potential form and show that DCBQ acts as an efficient electron acceptor from Q(A)(-) even while in its high potential form. In addition the approximately 150 ms phase corresponding to the originally described dark rearrangement of photoactivation, repetitive, double flash experiments, with a 10 s intervening dark period, reveals a faster, 15 ms phase that is accentuated by DCBQ.