Biology

Sylvia S. Mader
Michael Windelspecht

Chapter 7
Photosynthesis
Lecture Outline

7-1
Copyright ©2019 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
 Outline
7.1 Photosynthetic Organisms
7.2 The Process of Photosynthesis
7.3 Plants as Solar Energy
Converters
7.4 Plants as Carbon Dioxide
Fixers

۲
 7.1Photosynthetic Organisms
• All life on Earth depends on solar energy
• Photosynthetic organisms (algae, plants, and
cyanobacteria) transform solar energy into the chemical
energy of carbohydrates
 Called autotrophs because they produce their own
food.
• Photosynthesis:
 A process that captures solar energy
 Transforms solar energy into chemical energy
 Energy ends up stored in a carbohydrate
• Photosynthesizers produce food energy
 Feed themselves as well as heterotrophs

۳
Photosynthetic Organisms
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

mosses

trees garden plants

kelp Euglena cyanobacteria diatoms

(Moss): © Steven P. Lynch; (Trees): © Digital Vision/PunchStock; (Kelp): © Chuck Davis/Stone/Getty Images; (Cyanobacteria): © Sherman Thomas/Visuals Unlimited; (Diatoms): © Ed Reschke/Peter Arnold;
(Euglena): © T.E. Adams/Visuals Unlimited; (Sunflower): © Royalty-Free/Corbis

٤
 Photosynthetic Organisms
• Photosynthesis takes place in the green portions of
plants
 Leaf of flowering plant contains mesophyll tissue
 Cells containing chloroplasts are specialized to carry out
photosynthesis
• The raw materials for photosynthesis are carbon dioxide
and water
 Roots absorb water that moves up vascular tissue
 Carbon dioxide enters a leaf through small openings called
stomata and diffuses into chloroplasts in mesophyll cells
 In stroma, CO2 is combined with H2O to form C6H12O6 (sugar(
 Energy supplied by light
• Chlorophyll and other pigments absorb solar energy and energize
electrons prior to reduction of CO2 to a carbohydrate

٥
Leaves and Photosynthesis
.The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display ©Copyright

cuticle

upper
epidermis
Leaf cross section mesophyll

lower
CO2 epidermis
2O
leaf vein stoma
outer membrane
inner
membrane

stroma
stroma

granum

Chloroplast 37,000

thylakoid space
thylakoid
membrane
Grana
independent thylakoid overlapping thylakoid
in a granum in a granum

Dr. George Chapman/Visuals Unlimited ©

٦
7.2The Process of Photosynthesis
• Light Reactions – take place in thylakoids and
only in the presence of light
 Energy-capturing reactions
 Chlorophyll absorbs solar energy
 This energizes electrons
 Electrons move down an electron transport chain
• Pumps H+ into thylakoids
• Used to make ATP out of ADP and NADPH out of NADP
• Calvin Cycle Reactions – take place in the
stroma under light and dark condition
 CO2 is reduced to a carbohydrate
 Use ATP and NADPH to produce carbohydrate

۷
Overview of Photosynthesis
.Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display

O2H CO2

solar

energy

P +ADP
+NADP Calvin
cycle
Light reactions
reactions NADPH

ATP

stroma

thylakoid
CH2O
membrane 2O

۸
 7.3Plants as Solar Energy
Converters
• Pigments:
 Chemicals that absorb certain wavelengths of light
 Wavelengths that are not absorbed are
reflected/transmitted
• Absorption Spectrum
 Pigments found in chlorophyll absorb various portions
of visible light
 Graph showing relative absorption of the various
colors of the rainbow
 Chlorophyll is green because it absorbs much of the
reds and blues of white light and reflect green

۹
 Photosynthetic Pigments
and Photosynthesis
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Increasing wavelength

chlorophyll a

chlorophyll b

carotenoids
Increasing energy

Relative Absorption
Gamma Micro- Radio
rays X rays UV Infrared waves waves

visible light

500 600 750 380 500 600 750

Wavelengths (nm( Wavelengths (nm(

a. The electromagnetic spectrum includes visible light. b. Absorption spectrum of photosynthetic pigments.

۱۰
 Plants as Solar Energy
Converters
• The light reactions consist of two alternate
electron pathways:
 Noncyclic pathway
• Capture light energy with photosystems
 Pigment complex helps collect solar energy like an
antenna
 Occur in the thylakoid membranes
• Produce ATP and NADPH

۱۱
 Plants as Solar Energy
Converters
• Noncyclic pathway
 Takes place in the thylakoid membrane
 Uses two photosystems, PS I and PS II
 PS II captures light energy
 Causes an electron to be ejected from the reaction center
)chlorophyll a(
• Electron travels down electron transport chain to PS I
• Replaced with an electron from water, which is split to form
O2 and H+
• This causes H+ to accumulate in thylakoid chambers
• The H+ gradient is used to produce ATP
 PS I captures light energy and ejects an electron
• The electron is transferred permanently to a molecule of
NADP+
• Causes NADPH production

۱۲
Noncyclic Electron Pathway
Copyright ©The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

O2H 2CO

solar

energy

ADP+ P
+ NADP
Calvin
cycle
Light
reactions
NADPH

ATP

thylakoid

membrane
O CH2O ۱۳
 Noncyclic Electron Pathway O2Companies,
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill H 2CO required for reproduction or display.
Inc. Permission
solar

energy

ADP+ P
+ NADP

Calvin
sun Light cycle sun
reactions NADPH

ATP

electron thylakoid
electron
membrane

acceptor O O2CH acceptor

energy level

–e
–e

–e e– +NADP

+H
ATP

–e –e NADPH

reaction center reaction center

pigment
pigment
Photosystem I complex
complex
–e Photosystem II

2CO O2CH
O2H
Calvin cycle
reactions
+H2 1 ۱٤
2O –
2
 Plants as Solar Energy
Converters
• PS II:
 Consists of a pigment complex and electron acceptors
 Receives electrons from the splitting of water
 Oxygen is released as a gas
• Electron transport chain:
 Consists of cytochrome complexes and plastoquinone
 Carries electrons between PS II and PS I
 Also pumps H+ from the stroma into the thylakoid space
• PS I:
 Has a pigment complex and electron acceptors
 Adjacent to the enzyme that reduces NADP+ to NADPH
• ATP synthase complex:
 Has a channel for H+ flow
 H+ flow through the channel drives ATP synthase to join ADP
and Pi

۱٥
Organization of a Thylakoid
.The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display ©Copyright
O2 H 2 CO
solar
energy

P + ADP
+ NADP
Calvin
cycle
reactions
Light
reactions NADPH

ATP

thylakoid thylakoid membrane thylakoid

membrane
thylakoid space
2 O CH2 O
granum

photosystem II
electron transport
+H
chain stroma

photosystem I +H
NADP
reductase
Pq
-e
-e +NADP
-e NADPH

-e -e

+H
+H
1
O2H 2 +H O +2
2
H+ +H
+H

+H
+H

+H +H +H
+H ATP synthase
+H

+H

+H
ATP
Thylakoid +H
+H
space

chemiosmosis

ADP +P

Stroma
۱٦
 Plants as Solar Energy
Converters
• The thylakoid space acts as a reservoir for hydrogen ions
)H(+
• Each time water is oxidized, two H+ remain in the thylakoid
space
• Transfer of electrons in the electron transport chain yields
energy
 Used to pump H+ across the thylakoid membrane
 Protons move from stroma into the thylakoid space
• Flow of H+ back across the thylakoid membrane
 Energizes ATP synthase, which
 Enzymatically produces ATP from ADP + Pi
• This method of producing ATP is called chemiosmosis

۱۷
 7.4Plants as Carbon Dioxide
Fixers
• A cyclical series of reactions
• Utilizes atmospheric carbon dioxide to
produce carbohydrates
• Known as C3 photosynthesis
• Involves three stages:
• Carbon dioxide fixation
• Carbon dioxide reduction
• RuBP regeneration

۱۸
 Plants as Carbon Dioxide
Fixers
• CO2 is attached to 5-carbon RuBP

 Results in a 6-carbon molecule

 This splits into two 3-carbon molecules (3PG(

 Reaction is accelerated by RuBP carboxylase

(Rubisco(

• CO2 is now “fixed” because it is part of a

carbohydrate
۱۹
The Calvin Cycle Reactions Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
2 CO O2 H

solar
energy

P + ADP
+ NADP

Calvin
cycle
Light
reactions NADPH

ATP

Metabolites of the Calvin Cycle

stroma RuBP ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate

O O2 CH
2
3PG -3phosphoglycerate
2CO3

intermediate BPG -1,3bisphosphoglycerate

G3P glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate
6C 3

PG3 6
RuBP 3 3C
CO2
5C 6
fixation ATP

These ATP and

CO2
Calvin cycle P6 ADP + 6 NADPH molecules
3 +ADP 3 P reduction
were produced by
the light reactions.
regeneration
of RuBP
BPG 6
3C
These ATP
molecules were 3
produced by the ATP P 3G 5 NADPH 6
light reactions. 3C
P 3G 6
3C
+NADP 6

P3net gain of one G

۲۰
Other organic molecules Glucose
 Plants as Carbon Dioxide
Fixers
• 3PG is reduced to BPG

• BPG is then reduced to G3P

• Utilizes NADPH and some ATP produced

in the light reactions

۲۱
Reduction of Carbon Dioxide
.Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display

ATP + ADP P

PG3 BPG P3G

NADPH +NADP

P, ATP becomes3PG becomes G3As

+and NADPH becomes NADPP ADP +

۲۲
 Plants as Carbon Dioxide
Fixers
• Regeneration of RuBP

 RuBP used in CO2 fixation must be replaced

 Every three turns of Calvin Cycle:

• Five G3P (a 3-carbon molecule) are used

• To remake three RuBP )a -5carbon molecule(

• 5X 3 = 3X 5
۲۳
Regeneration of RuBP
.Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display

P3G 5 RuBP 3

ATP 3 P +ADP 3

P become three 3As five molecules of G

molecules of RuBP, three molecules of ATP
. P+ become three molecules of ADP

۲٤
 Plants as Carbon Dioxide
Fixers
• Importance of the Calvin Cycle:
 G3P (glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate) can be converted
to many other molecules
 The hydrocarbon skeleton of G3P can form
• Fatty acids and glycerol to make plant oils
• Glucose phosphate (simple sugar(
• Fructose (which with glucose = sucrose(
• Starch and cellulose
• Amino acids

۲٥
 Fate of G3P
.The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display ©Copyright

P3 G

glucose fatty acid amino acid

phosphate synthesis
synthesis

+
fructose
phosphate

Sucrose (in leaves, in roots )Starch in trunks, )Cellulose

( fruits, and seeds ( and seeds roots, and
(branches

۲٦
.Herman Eisenbeiss/Photo Researchers, Inc ©