Photosynthesis in

Higher Plants
ONE SHOT - EP-1
 Homework
Dissolution of the synaptonemal

complex occurs during

(1) Diplotene

(2) Leptotene

(3) Pachytene

(4) Zygotene
 Homework
Dissolution of the synaptonemal

complex occurs during

(1) Diplotene

(2) Leptotene

(3) Pachytene

(4) Zygotene
Chaithanya R

Sunil kadiyan
 PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN
HIGHER PLANTS

Autotrophs
Organism
Heterotrophs

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

A physico-chemical process by which they use light

energy to drive the synthesis of organic
compounds.

Photosynthesis is the basis of life on earth.

Primary source of all food on earth

Release of oxygen into the atmosphere

 Experiment to look for starch
formation in two leaves
Variegated leaf

Area of leaf
Leaf attached
unaffected with
with plant
Iodine

Black paper strip Starch Test

Area of leaf
affected with
Iodine
Photosynthesis occurred only in
the green parts of the leaves in
the presence of light
 CO2 is required for
photosynthesis.

No Carbon
dioxide

POTASSIUM
HYDROXIDE
 Priestley’s experiment
Role of air in the growth of green
plants
 Jan Ingenhousz : Experiment

Sunlight is essential to the plant

● Using a similar setup as the one used by

Priestley

● But by placing it once in the dark and

once in the sunlight,

● Jan Ingenhousz (1730-1799) showed that

sunlight is essential to the plant process
that somehow purifies the air fouled by
burning candles or breathing animals.
Jan Ingenhousz : Experiment
Only the green part of the plants that
could release oxygen.
 Julius von Sachs : Experiment

Provided evidence for production of glucose

when plants grow

● He showed that the green substance in

plants chlorophyll is located in special
bodies chloroplasts within plant cells.

● He found that the green parts in plants is

where glucose is made

● Glucose is usually stored as starch

 T.W Engelmann : Experiment

● Using a prism he split light into its spectral

components and then illuminated a green alga,
Cladophora, placed in a suspension of aerobic
bacteria.

● The bacteria were used to detect the sites of O2

evolution.

● He observed that the bacteria accumulated mainly in

the region of blue and red light of the split spectrum.

● A first action spectrum of photosynthesis was thus

described.

● It resembles roughly the absorption spectra of

chlorophyll a and b
 Cornelius Van Neil : Experiment

● On the basis of studies with purple and green sulphur

bacteria showed that photosynthesis is a light dependent
reaction

● In which hydrogen from an oxidisable compound reduces

to form sugar

Sunlight
CO2+ H2O CH2O + O2

Sunlight
2H2A+ CO2 2A + CH2O+ H2O

H2S, is the hydrogen donor for purple and green

sulphur bacteria

‘oxidation’ product is sulphur or sulphate depending

on the organism and not O2
 PHOTOSYNTHESIS
IN GREEN PLANTS

Sunlight
6CO22+ 12H2O C6H12O6 + 6H2O + 6O2

H2O is the hydrogen donor and is oxidised to O

O2 evolved by the green plant comes from H2O, not

from carbon dioxide

Hydrogen from a suitable oxidisable compound

reduces carbon dioxide to carbohydrates

C6 H12 O6 Represents glucose

WHERE DOES PHOTOSYNTHESIS
TAKE PLACE?
 CHLOROPLAST: GREEN PLASTID

Site of photosynthesis in eukaryotic photoautotrophs.

Present in Leaves , mesophyll cells along their walls.

Membranous system responsible for synthesizing light

energy for the synthesis of ATP and NADPH

Membranous system consisting

Grana

Stroma Lamellae

Fluid stroma
CHLOROPLAST: GREEN PLASTID

LIGHT REACTION

● Reaction in which light energy is absorbed by

grana to synthesis ATP and NADPH is called
light reaction

● Takes place in Grana

● Dependent of light

DARK REACTION

● The later part of photosynthesis in which Carbon

dioxide is reduced to sugar, light is not
necessary and is called dark reaction

● Takes place in stroma

● Not dependent of light

TYPES OF PIGMENTS ARE
INVOLVED IN
PHOTOSYNTHESIS?
 Graph showing the absorption
spectrum of chlorophyll a, b and the
carotenoids
Graph showing action spectrum of
photosynthesis
Graph showing action spectrum of
photosynthesis superimposed on
absorption spectrum of chlorophyll
 TYPES OF PIGMENTS ARE
INVOLVED IN
PHOTOSYNTHESIS?

● Colour that we see in leaves is not due to a

single pigment but due to four pigments

● Pigments are substances that have an

ability to absorb light, at specific
wavelengths.

Chief Pigment Chlorophyll a

Chlorophyll b, xanthophylls and

Accessory carotenoids,
pigment Protect chlorophyll a from
photo-oxidation.
 TYPES OF PIGMENTS ARE
INVOLVED IN
PHOTOSYNTHESIS?

(bright or blue green in

Chlorophyll a
the chromatogram

Chlorophyll b (yellow green)

Xanthophylls Yellow

Carotenoids Yellow to yellow Orange

 LIGHT REACTION
PHOTOCHEMICAL PHASE

Light absorption

Water splitting

Oxygen release

Formation of high energy

chemical intermediates (ATP and
NADPH).
 LIGHT REACTION
PHOTOCHEMICAL PHASE
 LIGHT REACTION
PHOTOCHEMICAL PHASE

The pigments are organized into two

discrete LHC( light harvesting complex)

PHOTOSYSTEM I PHOTOSYSTEM II

LHC are made up of hundreds of pigments

molecules containing all pigments except single
chlorophyll a molecules in each PS also called
antennae

These pigments help to make photosynthesis more

efficient by absorbing different wavelengths of light
 LIGHT REACTION
PHOTOCHEMICAL PHASE

Single chlorophyll a molecule forms the reaction

centre.

PHOTOSYSTEM I PHOTOSYSTEM II

Reaction centre
chlorophyll a has Absorption
an absorption peak maxima at 680 nm,
at 700 nm, hence is and is called P680.
called P700
 THE ELECTRON TRANSPORT

Reaction centre of photosystem II absorbs light of 680

nm in red region and causing electron to become
excited.

These electrons are picked by an electron acceptor

which passes to electron transport system consisting of
cytochromes

Electrons are passed down the electron transport chain

and then to the pigment of PS I.
 THE ELECTRON TRANSPORT

Electron in the PSI also get excited due to light of

wavelength 700nm and are transferred to another
acceptor molecule having a greater redox potential.

When electron passes in downhill direction, energy is

released. This is used to reduce the ADP to ATP and
NADP+ to NADPH.

The whole scheme of transfer of electron is called

Z-scheme due to its shape

● Photolysis of water release electrons that provide

electron to PS II.
● Oxygen is also released during this process.
Z scheme of light reaction
 Homework

Which pigment acts directly to convert light

energy to chemical energy?

a. Chlorophyll a

b. Chlorophyll b

c. Xanthophyll

d. Carotenoid
 NCERT 11th & 12th Schedule
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