Chapter

7
Photosynthesis: Using Light to Make Food
the process by which green plants and some
other organisms use sunlight to synthesize
nutrients from carbon dioxide and water.

s© 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.

CELLULAR RESPIRATION & PHOTOSYNTHESIS
 PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Plants, algae and certain bacteria transform light energy to
chemical bond energy in the form of ATP and then use
ATP to produce complex organic molecules like glucose.

• The process of photosynthesis can be summarized by the

following equation.

Light energy + 6 CO2 + 6 H 2O → C6H12O6 + 6O2

carbon + water → Glucose + Oxygen
dioxide

3
Cellular Respiration vs Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis Cellular Respiration

Function

Location

Reactants

Products

Reaction Equation
A Roadmap Of Photosynthesis

Green color is from

chlorophyll, a pigment
(light-absorbing molecule)
in the chloroplasts that
plays a central role in
converting solar energy to
chemical energy.
 Chloroplast Pigments
• The selective absorption of light by leaves
explains why they appear green to us.

– Light of that color is poorly absorbed by chloroplasts

and is thus reflected or transmitted toward the
observer.

• Energy cannot be destroyed, so the absorbed energy

must be converted to other forms – achieved by different
chloroplast pigments that absorb light of different
wavelengths
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 Chloroplast Pigments
• Chlorophyll a and b
• Carotenoids
– Beta-carotene
– Lycopene

Pumpkins, sweet potatoes, carrots

Tomatoes, watermelon and red peppers

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Figure 7.7
PHOTOSYNTHESIS

19
Remember a similar transfer of electrons happens in the ETC

Calvin
cycle
Light Light
−− H
NADPH +
ATP
ADP + P
NADP+
H
+

Stroma
Electron
Thylakoid Photosystem transport chain Photosystem ATP
membrane II I synthase
Inside thylakoid
Electron flow
2e
− H H
H2O H + +
+
1 H H
2
O2 + +

Thylakoid
membrane
Figure 7.13-s4

CO2 (from air)

11
P

RuBP sugar Three-carbon molecule

4
ATP
P
P
ADP + P
ADP + P Calvin
cycle − −
NADPH
ATP

NADP
+
G3P sugar G3P sugar
33 P P 22

G3P sugar Glucose

(and other
P organic
compounds)
25
 PHOTOSYNTHESIS
• Light-dependent reaction is initiated by the excited
electrons which result by capturing sun light.

• During this reaction, ATP and NADPH are produced.

• The ATP and NADPH, energy rich molecules, are then

used to fuel the manufacture of a glucose molecule from
carbon dioxide and a 5-carbon molecule.

28
 Energy Transformations: An Overview
of Photosynthesis
• Photosynthesis is a chemical transformation that requires
a lot of energy, and sunlight absorbed by chlorophyll
provides that energy.

– Recall that cellular respiration is a process of electron

transfer. A “fall” of electrons from food molecules to
oxygen to form water releases the energy that
mitochondria can use to make ATP.

– The opposite occurs in photosynthesis: Electrons are

boosted “uphill” and added to carbon dioxide to produce
sugar.
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There are three distinct events in the photosynthetic pathway;

1. Light capturing events:

The energy of light comes in discrete packages called photons.

Photons of light having different wavelengths have different amounts of energy.

Chlorophyll absorbs red or blue light best and reflects green light.

When a chlorophyll molecule is struck by light and absorbs a photon of the

correct wavelength, its electrons get excited to a higher energy level.

The energy of these excited electrons is used to split water molecules and form
ATP.

These reactions take place in the thylakoids.

•Pigments & other molecules involved in trapping sunlight energy are arranged
into clusters or are embedded in the membrane of the thylakoid. Known as
(photosystems) PS-1 (P680) & PS-2 (P700) – differing in the wavelength of light
they absorb optimally.
When light strikes a chlorophyll molecule, an electron becomes
excited. The energy of the excited electron is passed from one
pigment to another through the antenna complex.

The series of excitations continues until the combined energies from

several excitations are transferred to the reaction center .

An electron is excited and passed to a primary electron acceptor

molecule, oxidizing chlorophyll and reducing the acceptor.

Ultimately, the oxidized chlorophyll then has its electron replaced with
another electron from a different electron donor.

Thus, in summary:
a. chlorophyll and other pigments of the antenna complex capture light energy
and produce excited electrons
b. The energy is transferred to the reaction center
c. Excited electrons from the reaction center are transferred to a primary
electron acceptor molecule
 LIGHT-DEPENDENT REACTION
• Photosystems I and II have antenna complexes and
reaction centers and provide excited electrons to primary
electron acceptors.

• Excited electrons from photosystem II are

passed through an electron-transport chain
and ultimately enter photosystem I.

• PS II occurs first and feeds its excited electrons to PS I.

• The electron transport system is used to establish a proton

gradient that produces ATP.
32
2. Light dependent reactions:

• The oxygen is released into the environment as O2 and the

electrons of the hydrogens are used to replace the
electrons that previously had been lost by the chlorophyll.

• The remaining protons are released to participate in other

reactions.

• Thus, the light energy captured by the antenna complex is

used to split water into H and O.

• The excited electrons from PS II are sent through a series

of electron-transport reactions in which they give up some
of the energy.
This is similar to the ETC described for aerobic respiration.

While the electrons are being transported, protons are pumped from the
stroma into the space inside the thylakoid.

Eventually, these protons move back across the membrane and while
doing so ATPase is used to produce ATP (ADP is phosphorylated to ATP).

Thus, energy of sunlight is also used to produce ATP.

In PS I, light is trapped and the energy is absorbed in the same manner as

in PS II. But the PS I lacks the enzymes necessary for splitting of water
into oxygen, protons and electrons and hence O2 is not evolved / released
from PS I.

The high energy electrons leaving the reaction center of PS I make their
way through a different series of oxidation-reduction reactions.

During these reactions, the electrons are picked up by NADP+, which is

reduced to NADPH.

Thus, the primary result of PS I is the production of NADPH.

In summary, the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis take
place in the thylakoids of the chloroplast:

a. Excited electrons from PS II are passed through an ETC and

ultimately enter PS I

b. The ETC is used to establish a proton gradient that produces

ATP

c. Excited electrons from PS-I are transferred to NADP+ to form

NADPH

d. In PS-II, an enzyme splits water into hydrogen and oxygen.

The oxygen is released as O2

e. Electrons from the hydrogen of water replace the electrons lost

by chlorophyll in PS II
 Energy Transformations: An Overview
of Photosynthesis
The Calvin cycle uses the products of the light reactions to
make sugar from carbon dioxide.

• ATP generated by the light reactions provides the energy for sugar
synthesis.

• The NADPH produced by the light reactions provides the high-

energy electrons that drive the synthesis of glucose from carbon
dioxide.

• Thus, the Calvin cycle indirectly depends on light to produce sugar

because it requires the supply of ATP and NADPH produced by
the light reactions.

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3. Light independent reactions:

• These reactions take place within the stroma of the chloroplast.

• ATP, NADPH, CO2 and a 5-C starter molecule called ribulose are the
materials required for light independent reactions.

• ATP and NADPH are made available from the light dependent reactions in PS II
and I.

• CO2 molecules come from the atmosphere and the ribulose starter molecule is
already present in the stroma of the chloroplast from the previous reactions

• CO2 undergoes carbon fixation through Calvin cycle.

• ATP and NADPH from the light dependent reactions are used along with CO2
• to synthesize larger organic molecules in the Calvin cycle.

• The fixation of carbon begins with CO2 combining with 5-C molecule ribulose to
form an unstable 6-C molecule.

• This reaction is carried out by the enzyme ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase

(RuBisCo)
• The newly formed 6-C molecule immediately breaks into two 3-C
molecules each of which undergo a series of reactions that involve a
transfer of energy from ATP and a transfer of hydrogen from
NADPH.

• This results in formation of two molecules of glyceraldehyde-3-

phoshate.

• Since this is the first 3-C stable compound this pathway is referred to
as C3 photosynthetic pathway.

• Some of the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate is used to synthesize

glucose and some is used to regenerate ribulose molecule which
again combine with CO2 in a cyclic manner.

• The general equation for light independent reactions is

• CO2 + ATP + NADPH + Ribulose Glyceraldehyde-3-

phosphate + NADP+ + ADP + P
• Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate: the product of photosynthesis

• When a plant goes through photosynthesis, it produces 12 glyceraldehyde-

3-phosphate molecules.

• 10 of these molecules are rearranged by a series of reaction to regenerate

the 5-C ribulose, needed to operate the light independent reactions.

• The other 2 molecules are considered as a profit from the process and are
changed into a hexose.

• Hence, G-3-P and not sugar is the initial product of photosynthesis.

• G-3-P can be converted to glucose molecules, which can be combine to

form complex carbohydrates like starch or cellulose.

• Other simple sugars formed can be used as building blocks for ATP, RNA,
DNA, or other carbohydrate containing materials.

• The cell can convert G-3-P into lipids for storage or phospholipids for cell
membranes.
• G-3-P can also serve as a carbon skeleton for construction of
amino acids needed to form proteins.

• G-3-P can be broken down during cellular respiration to form

ATP.
 Energy Transformations: An Overview
of Photosynthesis
• The initial incorporation of carbon from the
atmosphere into organic compounds is called
carbon fixation.
– This can help reduce the concentration of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere.

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 Energy Transformations: An Overview
of Photosynthesis
• Deforestation, which removes a lot of
photosynthetic plant life, thereby reduces the
ability of the biosphere to absorb carbon.

• Planting new forests can have the opposite

effect of fixing carbon from the atmosphere,
potentially reducing the effect of the gases that
contribute to global climate change.

© 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Calvin
cycle

Light Light
− −
H
NADPH +
ATP
ADP + P
H NADP +

Stroma
Electron
Thylakoid Photosystem Photosystem ATP
transport chain
membrane synthase

Inside thylakoid
Electron flow
2e H
−
H
H2 H + +

O +
H
H
1 O + +

2 2

Thylakoid
membrane