CALVIN CYCLE

STEPS OF CALVIN CYCLE

1. Carbon fixation
The carbon atom from CO2 bonds with a five-carbon sugar called ribulose biphosphate (RuBP) to form an unstable six carbon sugar. 2. Formation of 3-carbon molecules

The six-carbon sugar formed in Step A immediately splits to

form two three-carbon molecules.

3. Use of ATP and NADPH A series of reactions involving ATP and NADPH from the lightdependent reactions converts the three-carbon molecules into hosphoglyceraldehyde (PGAL), three-carbon sugars with higher energy bonds.

4. Sugar production One out of every six molecules of PGAL is transferred to the cytoplasm and used in the synthesis of sugars and other carbohydrates. After three rounds of the cycle, six molecules of PGAL are produced.

5. RuBP is replenished Five molecules of PGAL, each with three carbon atoms, produce three molecules of the fivecarbon RuBP. This replenishes the RuBP that was used up, and the cycle can continue.

GLYCOLYSIS

GLYCOLYSIS

Glycolysis is a series of chemical reactions in the cytoplasm of a cell that break down glucose, a six-carbon compound, into two molecules of pyruvic acid, a three-carbon compound. Because two molecules of ATP are used to start glycolysis, and only four ATP molecules are roduced, glycolysis is not very effective, producing only two ATP molecules for each glucose molecule broken down. In the electron transport chain of photosynthesis, an electron carrier called NADP was described as carrying energized

electrons to another location in the cell for further chemical reactions. Glycolysis also uses an electron carrier, called NAD
(nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide). NAD forms NADH when it accepts two electrons. Two molecules of PGAL are formed during glycolysis. Recall that PGAL also forms in the Calvin cycle. The PGAL made during photosynthesis can enter the glycolysis pathway and lead to the formation of ATP and organic molecules.

Following glycolysis, the pyruvic acid molecules move into the mitochondria, the organelles that transform energy for the cell. In the presence of oxygen, two more stages complete cellular respiration: the citric acid cycle and the electron transport chain of the mitochondrion. Before these two stages can begin, however, pyruvic acid undergoes a series of reactions in which it gives off a molecule of CO2 and combines with a molecule called coenzyme A to form acetyl-CoA. The reaction with coenzyme A produces a molecule of NADH and H.

THE CITRIC ACID CYCLE

The citric acid cycle, also called the Krebs cycle, is a series of chemical reactions similar to the Calvin cycle in that the molecule
used in the first reaction is also one of the end products. For every turn of the cycle, one molecule of ATP and two molecules of carbon dioxide are produced. Two electron carriers are used, NAD and FAD (flavin adenine dinucleotide). A total of three NADH, three H ions, and one FADH2 are formed. The electron carriers each pass two energized electrons along to the electron transport chain in the inner membrane of the mitochondrion.

THE ELECTRON TRANSPORT CHAIN

The electron transport chain in the inner membrane of the mitochondrion is very similar to the electron transport chains of the thylakoid membrane in the chloroplasts of plant cells during photosynthesis. NADH and FADH2 deliver energized electrons at the top of the chain. The electrons are passed from protein to protein within the membrane, slowly releasing their energy in steps. Some of that energy is used directly to form ATP; some is used by an enzyme to pump H ions into the center of the mitochondrion. Consequently, the mitochondrion inner membrane becomes positively charged because of the high concentration of positively charged hydrogen ions. At the same time, the exterior of the membrane is negatively charged, which further attracts hydrogen ions. The gradient of H ions that results across the inner membrane of the mitochondrion provides the energy for ATP production, just as it does in the chemiosmotic process that takes place at the thylakoid membranes in the chloroplasts.

Without oxygen, the proteins in the electron transport chain cannot pass along
the electrons. If a protein cannot pass along an electron to oxygen, it cannot accept another electron. Very quickly, the entire chain becomes blocked and ATP production stops.

FERMENTATION

There are two major types of fermentation: lactic acid fermentation and alcoholic fermentation.

Different fermentation and cellular respiration is in the

fermentation cells without oxygen for a short periode of

time but in the cellular respiration use oxygen.

LACTIC ACID FERMENTATION

Lactic acid fermentation is one of the processes that supplies energy when oxygen is scarce. In this process, the reactions that produced pyruvic acid are reversed. Two molecules of pyruvic acid use NADH to form two molecules of lactic acid. This releases NAD to be used in glycolysis, allowing two ATP molecules to be formed for each glucose molecule. The lactic acid is transferred from muscle cells, where it is produced during strenuous exercise, to the liver that converts it back to pyruvic acid. The lactic acid that builds up in muscle cells results in muscle fatigue.

ALCOHOLIC FERMENTATION
Another type of fermentation, alcoholic fermentation, is used by yeast cells and some bacteria to produce CO2 and ethyl alcohol. When making bread, yeast cells produce CO2 that forms bubbles in the dough. Eventually the heat of the oven kills the yeast and the bubble pockets are left to lighten the bread.

COMPARISON OF FERMENTATION TO CELLULAR RESPIRATION

Lactic acid and alcoholic fermentations are comparable in the production of ATP, but compared to cellular respiration, it is obvious that fermentation is far less efficient in ATP production. This runners muscles have been depleted of oxygen and fermentation is taking place.

COMPARISON OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND CELLULAR RESPIRATION

Both photosynthesis and cellular respiration use electron carriers and a cycle of chemical reactions to form ATP. Both use electron
transport chains to form ATP and to create a chemical and a concentration gradient of H within a cell. This hydrogen ion gradient can be used to form ATP by chemiosmosis. However, despite using such similar tools, the two cellular processes accomplish quite different tasks. Photosynthesis produces high-energy carbohydrates and oxygen from the suns energy, whereas cellular respiration uses oxygen to break down carbohydrates to form ATP and compounds that provide less energy. Also, one of the end products of cellular respiration is CO2, which is one of the beginning products for photosynthesis. The oxygen produced during photosynthesis is a critical molecule necessary for cellular respiration.