Review: Energy Currency

We already know: The energy currency

for the cell is a molecule called…
Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)
A = Adenosine ATP = A ~ P ~ P ~ P
P = Phosphate ADP = A ~ P ~ P
~ = chemical bond AMP = A ~ P

The breaking of a bond (~)

in ATP releases energy

A~P~P~P → A~P~P + P + ENERGY

The making of a bond (~) in ATP

“bottles up” energy for later use
requires energy input

A~P~P + P + ENERGY → A~P~P~P

 Energy and Life
All living things have a need for energy
(this is a characteristic of life!)

Scientists classify living organisms into two

groups based on how they get their food…

Autotrophs : organisms (like plants) that produce

their own food from the energy in sunlight
Are there any other autotrophs besides plants?
Heterotrophs : organisms that cannot make their
own food and must consume in order to obtain energy
INTRO TO: PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Photosynthesis – the cellular process by which
solar energy is stored in chemical bonds
• Overall, the reaction is as follows:
Reactants Products
6 CO2 + 6 H2O + (light) energy → C6H12O6 + 6 O2
Photosynthesis is a complicated, 2-step process
Light Reactions
• Light is captured
• Oxygen is released
• ATP is formed
Dark Reactions
• Carbon dioxide is combined with
hydrogen in order to form glucose
 Chloroplasts
Structure
• Double membrane
• Interior is organized into
flattened sacs (thylakoids)
• A stack of thylakoids is
called a granum (plural → grana)
• Lumen : interior space of a thylakoid
• Stroma : protein-rich solution found
between the thylakoid membrane and
the outer membrane of the chloroplast
• Light reactions occur on the thylakoid membranes
• Dark reactions occur in the stroma
 The Nature of Light
• Light from the sun appears white, but it is
actually composed of a variety of colors

Violet Indigo Blue Green Yellow Orange Red

• Light is made of particles of energy

that move in waves (“dual nature”)

→ Each color has a different amount of energy

→ Each color has a different wavelength
When striking something, colors may be:
- Absorbed (we no longer see it)
- Reflected (we see it)
- Transmitted (it passes through)
 The Biology of Autumn Colors
• Pigment – a colored
chemical compound
that absorbs light
• The main photosynthetic
pigment found on the
membranes of the
chloroplasts is called
CHLOROPHYLL
(Two types: “a” and “b”)
• Responsible for the green
appearance of plants
• In the fall, photosynthesis
slows down, as does
chlorophyll production
• This reveals other pigments
(Example: caroteniods, which
appear orange/yellow/brown)
Question: What color(s) do chlorophyll a and b each absorb and reflect?
Light (Dependent) Reactions
Question: Why do they call it this?

Three Steps of the Light Reactions:

- Electron Transport Chain
- Restoring Photosystem II
- Chemiosmosis
 I. Electron Transport Chain

• Photosystem: a cluster of pigment molecules

• A light photon “excites” an electron in Photosystem II
• This electron travels from molecule to molecule along
the transport chain, losing energy along the way
• The energy “lost” by the electron is used to
pump protons (H+) into the thylakoid lumen
• Similarly, light “excites” an electron in Photosystem I,
which is passed along another transport chain
• At end of this chain: e- + H+ + NADP+ → NADPH
 II. Restoring Photosystem II
• We know that the electron departing from
Photosystem I is replaced by the electron
finishing Photosystem II’s transport chain
• BUT…how are the electrons leaving
Photosystem II replaced?

• The answer is…….

WATER !!!!!
• A thylakoid enzyme splits
water molecules as follows:
2H20 → 4H+ + 4e- + O2
• This creates:
ELECTRONS for the transport
chain, as well as OXYGEN
 III. Chemiosmosis
• Chemiosmosis synthesizes ATP
• Remember : the high concentration
of protons built up inside the thylakoids
as a result of the transport chain
• The protons diffuse (which direction?)
through a carrier enzyme called…
ATP synthase
• The protons passing through this
enzyme cause it to synthesize
ATP from ADP + P

The 2 Main Products of the Light Reactions:

•NADPH
•ATP
(Both will be needed in the dark reactions)
 Dark (Light Independent) Reactions
Question: Why do they call it this?

Carbon Fixation
- Incorporating CO2 into organic compounds
- Occurs in the stroma

The Calvin Cycle

• Melvin Calvin, American biochemist
• University of California, Berkeley
• Nobel Prize (chemistry) in 1961
• 1911-1997
• Yes, this looks complicated. Just try and
focus on the # of carbon atoms along the way.
Alternate Pathways for Carbon Fixing
C4 Pathway
• Used by plants in hot, dry climates
(examples: corn, sugarcane, crabgrass)
• The first stable product has 4 carbons
(the Calvin cycle can therefore
be called the C3 pathway)
CAM Pathway
• Another adaptation to prevent water loss
(used by cactuses and pineapples)
• Stomata (pores in the plant)
are open only at night
 Rate of Photosynthesis

Why does one graph plateau and the other crash?

Photosynthesis: The Big Picture