Photosynthesis

Is the process by which green plants and

autotrophic organisms synthesize food.

Is the combination of carbon dioxide with

water to form carbohydrates.
chl
6CO2 + 12H20 C6H12O6 + 6O2 + 6H2O
light
Green plants

cyanobacteria Green algae

Non-photosynthetic plants
Non-chlorophyllous

Snow plant

Indian pipe
 Differences between autotrophs and
heterotrophs
Photoautotrophs Heterotrophs
Source of energy Sunlight Food:proteins
carbohydrates
Source of building carbon dioxide Food
materials

Organisms
photosynthetic plants Completely parasitic plants
Algae Fungi
Cyanobacteria Animals; protozoa
Non-photosynthetic parts
Photosynthesis uses light energy to convert CO2 and H2O
into sugars
The processes of photosynthesis and respiration are
interdependent
Converting light energy to Chemical Energy: The Light Reaction
Chlorophyll is the principal light absorbing molecule of photosynthesis
PHOTOSYNTHETIC PIGMENTS- are soluble in
organic solvent such as alcohol and acetone.
CH A – MAIN PHOTOSYNTHETIC PIGMENTS
DARK GREEN
absorbs BLUE-VIOLET AND RED SPECTRUM

CH B – ACCESSORY PIGMENTS
BLUISH GREEN

CAROTENOIDS – ACCESSORY PIGMENTS

ABSORB BLUE GREEN AND REFLECTS
YELLOW OR YELLOW ORANGE

1. CAROTENE – ORANGE- antioxidant

2. XANTHOPHYLL – YELLOW- oxidizing
 The Light-dependent reaction
1. The nature of light

Action spectrum- a profile of how

effectively different wavelengths of
light promote photosynthesis.
Absorption spectrum = the range of pigment’s ability to absorb
wavelengths of light.
 PHOTOCHEMICAL REACTION- “LIGHT REACTION”
Light energy enters photosynthesis at locations called photosystems
The Light-dependent reaction
The Photosynthetic units
Photosystem I
Photosystem II

Membrane lipids
Antenna chlorophyll molecules
Reaction center and primary
electron acceptor
Photosynthetic units- 300 molecules of ch a & b and
carotenoids

Photosystem I Photosystem II
With little chl b With ch b almost equal to ch a
P700 P680

Each photosystem consists of

the ff:
1. Antenna chlorophyll molecules
2. Reaction center (Ch a)
3. Series of electrons carriers
Movement of electrons in the light reactions
 Chemiosmosis and ATP synthesis in the light reactions
H+ ions move back across the membrane causing the release of energy
 Light-dependent reaction
(Photochemical Reaction)
1. Produce the reducing agent NADPH
2. Synthesis of ATP
(chemiosmotic phosphorylation)
3. Breakdown of water into H+, O2
Converting CO2 to sugars: The Calvin Cycle

Melvin Calvin, Andrew Benson, and James Bassham- 1953

1961 won the Nobel Prize in Biochemistry
 Biochemical reactions
Stroma reaction
Calvin Benson Cycle
Conversion of carbon
dioxide to carbohydrates
The Calvin cycle uses ATP
And NADPH from the light
Reactions to make sugar
Phosphates from CO2
 Anabolic Metabolism
• 3-phosphoglyceraldehyde
Several types of storage
compound
1. Short-term storage: ATP and
NADPH
2. Intermediate-term storage:
glucose and sucrose
3. Long-term storage
starch and lipids
 The synthesis of
Polysaccharides

Gluconeogenesis – the anabolic synthesis of

glucose
Glucose is polymerized into polysaccharides
1. amyloseis a linear polymer of glucose linked mainly by
α(1→4) bonds.

2. amylopectin is a highly branched polymer of glucose

3. celluloseis an organic compound with the formula (C6H10O5)n, a
polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to over ten
thousand β(1→4) linked D-glucose units
 Rubisco -RuBP Carboxylase
• One of the largest and most
complex enzymes known

• A giant complex of two protein

subunits

• With 8 copies of large protein,

each with a molecular wt of 14,000
to 15,000 daltons

• Total molecular weight of 480,000

daltons

• Low substrate specificity – binds

either with Oxygen or Carbon
dioxide depending which one has
higher conc.
Rubisco and photorespiration.
Rubisco can function as
carboxylase (fixing carbon);
oxygenase (fixing oxygen),
depending on oxygen
concentration.
The C4 pathway limits the loss of
carbon from photorespiration
These C4 plants are well adapted to (and likely to be found
in) habitats with:

high daytime temperatures

intense sunlight.

Some examples:
crabgrass
corn (maize)
sugarcane
sorghum
C4 plants are more efficient than C3 plants.
High light intensity, high temperature, and loc CO2.
CAM plants store CO2 in a C4 acid at night for use
in the Calvin Cycle during the day.
These adaptations also enable their
owners to thrive in conditions of:

• high daytime temperatures

• intense sunlight
• low soil moisture.

Some examples of CAM plants:

• cacti
• Bryophyllum
• the pineapple and all epiphytic
bromeliads
• sedums
• the "ice plant" that grows in sandy
parts of the scrub forest biome