Crop Sci - Principles of Crop Production

UNIT
c 3

Factors affecting crop production

Lesson 1.1: Physiological processes (Respiration)

Lesson Outcomes

At the end
At the of of
end thethelesson,
lesson,the
the students willbe
students will beable
ableto:to:
1. familiarize the process of photosynthesis, respiration, translocation and transpiration
2. evaluate the significance of physiological processes on crop production
3. compare and contrast respiration and photosynthesis
4. differentiate the transpiration from translocation

RESPIRATION
Cellular respiration is one of the distinguishing attributes of living organisms. The energy required to sustain
vital biological processes is generated from cellular respiration. In plants, this energy is consequently used
to power synthetic, mechanical, electrical, and active osmotic processes.
Broadly, respiration is defined as an enzyme-catalyzed reaction involving the transformation of organic
substrates into carbon dioxide and water, accompanied by the release of energy (chiefly in the form of
adenosine triphosphate, ATP). The summary of this exothermic process is represented by the following
chemical equation:

The over-all reaction for respiration may be viewed as the opposite of photosynthesis, although the specific
reaction steps vary considerably between the two processes. Table 10 summarizes the salient differences
between respiration and photosynthesis.
 Crop Sci - Principles of Crop Production

Stages of Respiration
Cellular respiration in plants and other organisms is often termed as “dark respiration” to distinguish it from
photorespiration which is linked to photosynthesis. The so-called dark respiration, however, proceeds even
in the presence of light. In dark respiration, the complete oxidation of substrates
involves three major reaction sequences, as shown in Figure 22:
a. Glycolysis
b. Krebs cycle
c. Electron transport system or ETS
In primitive organisms like the anaerobic bacteria, energy is derived chiefly from glycolysis. In higher plants,
glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration (Krebs cycle and ETS) must proceed in sequence to generate
more energy needed for growth and development.

Glycolysis
Glycolysis (syn. glycolytic sequence, anaerobic phase, or Embden Meyerhof pathway), the first
step in dark respiration, occurs in the cytoplasm. Partial oxidation of a glucose molecule (6-C) yields two
molecules of pyruvic acid (3-C). In the process, substrate phosphorylation of the sugar molecule results
to a net production of 2 ATP. While glycolysis is considered the anaerobic phase of dark respiration,
oxygen must be sufficiently available in order to proceed to mitochondrial respiration. When oxygen is
limiting, pyruvic acid generated during glycolysis remains in the cytosol and anaerobic respiration (syn.
fermentation) occurs. During fermentation, either ethanol or lactic acid is produced, with the process
liberating considerably smaller amount of energy as compared with mitochondrial respiration. For every
pyruvic acid molecule proceeding to anaerobic respiration, one NADH which would otherwise be a
potential source of 3 ATP after its oxidation through the ETS is instead utilized to reduce pyruvic acid to
alcohol or lactic acid.
 Crop Sci - Principles of Crop Production

Krebs Cycle
When oxygen is not limiting, the pyruvic acids produced in the cytosol during glycolysis are imported
into the mitochondrial matrix where Krebs cycle occurs (Figures 23 and 24). Pyruvic acid is first oxidized
to acetyl co-enzyme A (acetyl co-A) and then subsequently converted into CO2 through the Krebs cycle
(syn. tricarboxylic acid cycle or citric acid cycle). Krebs cycle involves series of chemical reactions which
form carbon skeletons used for the synthesis of larger molecules. For every glucose molecule (2 pyruvic
acid molecules), the Krebs cycle also forms 6 NADH and 2 FADH2 and yields 2 ATP via substrate-level
phosphorylation.

Electron Transport System (ETS)

The final stage of dark respiration occurs in the inner mitochondrial membrane. In the electron
transport system, NADH (from glycolysis and Krebs cycle) and FADH2 (from Krebs cycle) are oxidized to
yield ATP. Unlike in glycolysis and Krebs cycle, ATP is generated in ETS via oxidative phosphorylation.
Finally, the electrons and protons recombine with O2 to form metabolic water
Energy Yield
Approximately 30 ATPs are generated for every glucose (or other hexose) molecule completely
oxidized during dark respiration.
 Crop Sci - Principles of Crop Production

Factors affecting respiration

1. Age and nature of tissues

Different tissues and organs respire at different rates. Greater over-all metabolic activity of a given tissue
requires higher respiration rate. Younger tissues (e.g. developing buds) have higher respiration rates than
older tissues (e.g. mature leaves) as they need more energy for growth processes. Moreover, respiration
rates of vegetative tissues also decreases from growing tip to more differentiated regions. In dormant
organs (e.g. some seeds), the absence of growth-associated events may be attributed to very low
respiration rates or no respiration at all.

At maturity, respiration rate remains constant or decreases slowly as the tissue ages and senescence. In
the case of climacteric fruits (e.g. banana, mango, avocado, tomato, jackfruit, etc.), ripening, which leads to
senescence, is associated with a considerable increase in the rate of respiration and ethylene biosynthesis.

On the other hand, tissues with higher moisture content respire more than drier tissues. This explains why
perishables (e.g. fruits and vegetables), which have higher moisture content, deteriorate faster than
durables (e.g. cereals). Wounded, damaged, or infected tissues also exhibit higher respiration rates than
healthy tissues.
 Crop Sci - Principles of Crop Production

2. Temperature
The rate of respiration is a function of temperature. In general, respiration rate increases with increasing
temperature, until a temperature threshold, during which respiration rate decreases as a result of protein
denaturation. The temperature coefficient (Q10) of respiration describes doubling of the respiration rate for
every 10˚C in temperature between 0˚C and 35˚C.This temperature stimulation of respiration reflects the
increased demand for energy to support the increased rates of biosynthesis, transport, and protein turnover
that occur at high temperatures.

3. Oxygen
Respiration rate decreases with decreasing availability of oxygen. Under limited oxygen (hypoxia) or in the
absence of oxygen (anoxia), anaerobic respiration or fermentation occurs. This is apparent in waterlogged
conditions wherein plant roots of paddy rice produce alcohol as a consequence of oxygen limitation through
the process of alcohol fermentation.

4. Carbon dioxide
The decrease in respiration rate due to increase in carbon dioxide concentration is an example of feedback
inhibition. This is a regulatory mechanism wherein accumulation of considerable amount of the product (i.e.
CO2) inhibits the forward reaction of respiration. For example, storage of some fruits in a high-CO2
(e.g.10%) environment inhibits respiration, and prolongs the postharvest life of these produce.