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BIOLS 102
Dr. Tariq Alalwan
Biology, 10e
Sylvia S. Mader
Lectures by Tariq Alalwan, Ph.D.
Learning Objectives
 List the types of organisms that carry on photosynthesis.  Identify the structure of a chloroplast and explain how its components interact and facilitate the process of it t i t
t d f ilit t th f photosynthesis.  Show that photosynthesis is a redox reaction that produces a carbohydrate and releases O2.
 Describe what happens to an electron in a biological molecule such as chlorophyll when a photon of light energy is absorbed.
Learning Objectives (cont.)
 Explain why leaves are green, with reference to the electromagnetic spectrum.
 Describe how the thylakoid membrane is organized to produce ATP.  Describe the three phases of the Calvin cycle, and indicate when ATP and/or NADPH are involved.
 Compare and contrast three modes of photosynthesis and tell how each is adapted to a particular environment.
Chapter 7: Photosynthesis
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BIOLS 102
Dr. Tariq Alalwan
Photosynthetic Organisms
 Organisms cannot live without energy  Almost all the energy that organisms used comes from the solar energy  Photosynthesis:
Ph t
th i
 A process that captures solar energy and transforms it into chemical energy (carbohydrate)
 Occurrs in higher plants, algae, mosses, photosynthetic protists and some bacteria (cyanobacteria)
Photosynthetic Organisms
 Autotrophs – organisms having the ability to synthesize carbohydrates
 Heterotrophs – organisms that must take in preformed organic molecules
 Both autotrophs & heterotrophs use carbohydrates produced by photosynthesis Flowering Plants as Photosynthesis
 Photosynthesis takes place in the green portions of plants
 Leaf of flowering plant contains mesophyll tissue with chloroplasts
p
 Specialized to carry on photosynthesis
 CO2 enters leaf through stomata
 Diffuses into chloroplasts in mesophyll cells
 In the stroma, CO2 is combined with H2O to form C6H12O6 (sugar)
 Thylakoid membrane contains chlorophyll , which absorbs solar energy  drives photosynthesis
Chapter 7: Photosynthesis
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Dr. Tariq Alalwan
The Process of Photosynthesis
 The process of photosynthesis is an example of a redox reaction (i.e. movement of electrons from one molecule to another)
g
g
p
y y g
 In living things, electrons are accompanied by hydrogen ions (H+ + e)  Oxidation is the loss of hydrogen atoms; Reduction is the gain of hydrogen atoms
The Process of Photosynthesis (cont.)
 CO2 reduction requires energy and hydrogen atoms
 Solar energy will be used to generate ATP needed to reduce CO2 to sugar
 Electrons needed to reduce CO2 will be carried by a coenzyme (NADP+)
 NADP+ is the active redox coenzyme of photosynthesis
 When NADP+ is reduced, it accepts 2 e‐ and H+
 When NADP+ is oxidized, it gives up its electrons
Chapter 7: Photosynthesis
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BIOLS 102
Dr. Tariq Alalwan
Photosynthetic Reactions
 In 1930, van Niel showed that O2 given off by photosynthesis comes from water and not from CO2
 Researchers later confirmed using the isotope oxygen (18O) that O2 given off from photosynthesis comes from water not CO2
 When water splits, O2 is released and the hydrogen atoms (2 e‐ + H+) are taken up by NADPH
 NADH later reduces CO2 to a carbohydrate
Plants as Solar Energy Converters
 Higher energy wavelengths are screened out by the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere
 Lower energy wavelengths are screened out by water vapor and CO
d CO2
 Photosynthetic pigments use primarily the visible light portion of the electromagnetic spectrum
 Pigments found in chlorophyll absorb various portions of visible light; this is called their absorption spectrum
 Graph showing relative absorption of the various colors of the rainbow
Photosynthetic Pigments
 Chlorophylls a and b
 Main pigment that initiate light‐dependent reactions of photosynthesis
 Absorb violet, blue and red light best
 Very little green light is absorbed; most is reflected (this is why leaves appear green)
 Carotenoids
 Yellow and orange accessory photosynthetic pigments
 Absorb light in violet, blue, and green regions
Chapter 7: Photosynthesis
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Dr. Tariq Alalwan
Absorption and Action Spectrum  Spectrophotometer
 An instrument which measures the amount of light of a specified wavelength which passes through a sample  Amount of light absorbed at each wavelength is plotted on a graph, resulting in an absorption spectrum
Phosynthetic Pigments and Photosynthesis
Two Sets of Reactions
 Light Reactions:
 Take place only in the presence of light
 Chlorophyll present in thylakoid membranes absorbs solar energy  energizes electrons
 Electrons move down electron transport chain

Pumps H+ into thylakoids

Used to make ATP out of ADP and NADPH out of NADP+
 Calvin Cycle Reactions:
 In the stroma, CO2 is reduced to a carbohydrate  Reduction requires the ATP and NADPH produced in the light reactions
Chapter 7: Photosynthesis
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Dr. Tariq Alalwan
Photosynthesis Overview
Light Reactions
 The light reactions utilize two light‐gathering units (i.e., photosystems):
 Photosystem I (PSI)
 Photosystem II (PSII)
Ph t
t II (PSII)
 A photosystem unit consists of
 Pigment complex (molecules of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and the carotenoids)
 Electron acceptor molecules that help collect solar energy like an antenna
 Occur in the thylakoid membranes
Noncyclic Electron Pathway
 Uses two photosystems, PS I and PS II
 Energy enters the system when PS II becomes excited by light  Causes high‐energy electrons (e
Causes high energy electrons (e‐)to leave the reaction center chlorophyll a molecule
 Electron travels down electron transport chain to PS I
 PS II takes replacement electron from H2O, which splits, releasing O2 and H+ ions; H2O  2 H+ + 2 e‐ + ½ O2
 H+ ions temporarily stay within the thylakoid space and contribute to a H+ ion gradient
 Which causes ATP production, how?
Chapter 7: Photosynthesis
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Noncyclic Electron Pathway (cont.)
 Low‐energy electrons leaving the electron transport system enter PS I
 PS I captures light energy and ejects the energized electron (e‐) from the reaction center chlorophyll a
 Transferred permanently by electron acceptors to a molecule of NADP+
 Causes NADPH production; NADP+ + 2 e‐ + H+ NADPH
 NADPH and ATP produced are used by the Calvin cycle reaction or light‐independent (dark) reaction enzymes in the stroma
Organization of the Thylakoid Membrane
 PS II:
 Consists of a pigment complex and electron‐acceptor molecules
 Adjacent to an enzyme that oxidizes water
 Oxygen is released as a gas (by‐product)
 Electron transport chain (ETC):
 Consists of Pq (plastoquinone) and cytochrome complexes
 Carries electrons from PS II to PS I
 Pumps H+ from the stroma into thylakoid space
Chapter 7: Photosynthesis
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BIOLS 102
Dr. Tariq Alalwan
Organization of the Thylakoid Membrane
 PS I:
 Consists of a pigment complex and electron acceptor molecules
 Adjacent to enzyme that reduces NADP+ to NADPH
 ATP synthase complex:
 Has a channel for H+ flow
 Which drives ATP synthase to join ADP and Pi
Organization of a Thylakoid
ATP Production
 Thylakoid space acts as a reservoir for H+ ions  Each time water is oxidized, two H+ remain in the thylakoid space
 Electrons yield energy
 Used to pump H+ across thylakoid membrane
 Move from stroma into the thylakoid space
 Flow of H+ back across thylakoid membrane
 Energizes ATP synthase enzyme thus producing ATP from ADP + Pi
 This method of producing ATP is called chemiosmosis as it is tied to an electrochemical H+ gradient
Chapter 7: Photosynthesis
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Dr. Tariq Alalwan
Calvin Cycle Reactions
 A series of reactions producing carbohydrates; these reactions follow the light reactions
 The cycle is named for Melvin Calvin who used a radioactive isotope of carbon to trace the reactions
 Known as C3 photosynthesis  Involves three phases: 
Carbon dioxide fixation

Carbon dioxide reduction

Regeneration of RuBP
Fixation of Carbon Dioxide
 The first step of the Calvin cycle
 Atmospheric CO2 enters the stroma of the chloroplast via the stomata of the leaves  CO2 is attached to 5‐carbon RuBP molecule
 Results in an intermediate 6‐carbon molecule
 This splits into two 3‐carbon molecules (3PG)
 Reaction is accelerated by RuBP Carboxylase (Rubisco)

Comprises 20–50% of the protein content of chloroplasts, why?
 CO2 now “fixed” because it is part of a carbohydrate
Reduction of Carbon Dioxide
 ATP phosphorylates each 3PG molecule and creates 1,3‐
bisphosphoglycerate (BPG)  BPG is then reduced by NADPH to glyceraldehyde‐3‐
phosphate (G3P)
 NADPH and some ATP used for the reduction reactions are produced in the light reactions
Chapter 7: Photosynthesis
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Regeneration of RuBP
 RuBP used in CO2 fixation must be replaced
 For every three turns of Calvin Cycle,
 Five G3P molecules are used
 To remake three RuBP molecules
 5 X 3 (carbons in G3P) = 3 X 5 (carbons in RuBP)
The Calvin Cycle
C3 Plants
 C3 plants include more than 95% percent of the plant species on earth (e.g. trees)
 Called C3 because the CO2 is first incorporated into a 3‐
p
carbon compound
CO2 + RUBP
Rubisco
2 3PG
 In hot dry conditions, the photosynthetic efficiency of C3 plants suffers because of photorespiration
 Stomata must close to avoid wilting
 CO2 decreases and O2 increases
 O2 starts combining with RuBP instead of CO2
Chapter 7: Photosynthesis
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C4 Photosynthesis
 Uses another method of CO2 uptake forming a 4‐
carbon molecule instead of the two 3‐carbon molecules
 In C4 plants
 Bundle sheath cells as well as the mesophyll cells contain chloroplasts
 The enzyme PEP carboxylase (PEPCase) fixes CO2 to PEP (a C3 molecule)  oxaloacetate (a C4 molecule)
 Oxaloacetate is reduced to malate, which is pumped into the bundle sheath cells
 Here the 4‐carbon molecule is broken down into CO2, which enters the Calvin cycle to form sugars & starch
Chloroplast distribution in
C4 vs. C3 Plants
CO2 Fixation in C4 vs. C3 Plants
 In hot and dry climates
 C4 plants avoid photorespiration as PEP in mesophyll cells does not bind to O
O2
 Net productivity of C4 is about 2‐3 times of C3 plants
 In cool, moist conditions, CO2 fixation in C3 plants is three times more efficient than in C4
Chapter 7: Photosynthesis
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CAM Photosynthesis
 Called CAM (Crassulacean‐acid metabolism) after the plant family in which it was first found
 CAM plants partition carbon fixation by time
 Crassulacean‐Acid Metabolism
C
l
A id M b li
 During the night through their open stomata

CAM plants use PEPCase to fix CO2

Forms C4 molecules (malate)

Stored in large vacuoles in mesophyll cells
CAM Photosynthesis (cont.)
 During daylight

NADPH and ATP are available from the light‐dependent reactions

Stomata closed for water l df
conservation but CO2 cannot enter photosynthesizing tissues

C4 formed at night is broken down to CO2 during the day, which enters the Calvin cycle

Photosynthesis in a CAM plant is minimal, due to limited amount of CO2 fixed at night
Chapter 7: Photosynthesis
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