Objectives

1) Which components are required during photosyntehsis

2) How do plants make energy & food?

3) Differentiate between energy building and sugar building

reactions

4) Importance of chloroplasts

5) Photosynthesis: The Chemical Process – how does it take place?

6) Light-dependent Reactions and photosystems
 Photosynthesis:
Life from Light and Air
 Photosynthesis: The Chemical Process
• Occurs in two main phases.
– Light reactions
– Dark reactions (the Calvin Cycle)

• Light reactions are the “photo” part of

photosynthesis. Light is absorbed by
pigments.

• Dark reactions are the “synthesis” part of

photosynthesis. Trapped energy from the sun
is converted to the chemical energy of sugars.
 THE BASICS OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS
• Almost all plants are photosynthetic autotrophs,
as are some bacteria.
– Autotrophs generate their own organic matter through
photosynthesis
– Sunlight energy is transformed to energy stored in the
form of chemical bonds

(c) Euglena (d) Cyanobacteria

(b) Kelp
(a) Mosses, ferns, and
flowering plants
 Plants are energy producers
• Like animals, plants need energy to live
– unlike animals, plants don’t need to eat food
to make that energy
• Plants make both FOOD & ENERGY
– animals are consumers
– plants are producers
 How do plants make energy & food?
• Plants use the energy from the sun
– to make ATP energy
– to make sugars
• glucose, sucrose, cellulose, starch, & more

sun

ATP

sugars
 Building plants from sunlight & air
• Photosynthesis
– 2 separate processes
– ENERGY building reactions sun
• collect sun energy
• use it to make ATP
– SUGAR building reactions
• take the ATP energy ATP
• collect CO2 from air &
H2O from ground
H2O +
• use all to build sugars
CO2

carbon dioxide water sugars sugars

CO2 + HO C6H12O6
2
 What do plants need to grow?
• The “factory” for making
energy & sugars
– chloroplast Make ATP!
Make sugar!
• Fuels sun I can do it all…
And no one
even notices!
– sunlight
– carbon dioxide CO2
– water ATP

• The Helpers enzymes

– enzymes
nutrients H2O
N, P, K, S, Mg, Fe… sugars
uptake from roots
 Photosynthesis occurs in chloroplasts

Chloroplast Structure

• Stroma, a fluid surrounding the thylakoids.

• Granum Thickened regions called thylakoids.

grana - stacks of thylakoids

• The thylakoid membranes is impregnated with

photosynthetic pigments, i.e. chlorophylls green
pigment that captures light for photosynthesis
 Chloroplast Pigments
• Chlorophyll A is the most important
photosynthetic pigment.
• Other pigments or accessory pigments are
also present in the leaf.
– Chlorophyll B
– Carotenoids (orange / red)
– Xanthophylls (yellow / brown)
• These pigments are embedded in the
membranes of the chloroplast in groups
called photosystems.
 In the light reactions, electron transport
chains generate ATP, NADPH, & O2
• Two connected photo systems (I & II)
collect photons of light and transfer the
energy to chlorophyll electrons

• The excited electrons are passed from the

primary electron acceptor to electron
transport chains.

The energy ends up in ATP and NADPH

 Light-dependent Reactions
• Photosystems: light capturing unit, contains
chlorophyll, the light capturing pigment function
in conjuction with each other.
• Electron transport system: sequence of
electron carrier molecules that shuttle electrons,
energy released to make ATP
• Electrons in chlorophyll must be replaced so
that cycle may continue - these electrons come
from water molecules, Oxygen is liberated from
the light reactions
• Light reactions yield ATP and NADPH used to
fuel the reactions of the Calvin cycle (light
independent or dark reactions)
Photosystems of photosynthesis
• Two types of photosystems cooperate in the
light reactions in thylakoid membrane
– collections of chlorophyll molecules
– act as light-gathering molecules
– Photosystem II
– chlorophyll a
• P680 = absorbs 680nm
wavelength red light
– Photosystem I –
– chlorophyll b
• P700 = absorbs 700nm
wavelength red light
 Phosphorylation
• Formation of ATP from ADP is called
phosphorylation.
• ADP + Pi  ATP
• In chlorophyll, energy is absorbed and
converted to ATP in a process called photo
phosphorylation.

• ATP Is an Important Stored Energy Molecule

there are two types of photo phosphorylation

1. Non-cyclic photo phosphorylation
2. Cyclic photo phosphorylation
 Non-cyclic photophosphorylation

Both PsI and PsII are needed for non-cyclic photophosphorylation.

In every cycle of non-cyclic photophosphorylation one ATP and one

NADPH are produced.

Electrons are passed continuously from H2O to NADP+ and

produce ATP, NADPH and O2.

Photosystem II regains electrons by splitting water, leaving O2

gas as a by-product

– PS II generates
energy as ATP
– PS I generates
reducing power as NADPH
How the Light Reactions Generate ATP and NADPH
Primary NADP
electron
acceptor
Energy
Primary to make 3
electron
acceptor 2

Light

Light

Primary
electron
acceptor

Reaction-
1 center NADPH-producing
chlorophyll photosystem

Photosystem I
Water-splitting

2 H + 1/2
photosystem NONcyclic
Photosystem II photophosphorylation
 Cyclic photophosphorylation

• If PS I can’t pass electron to NADP…it cycles back

to PS II & makes more ATP, but no NADPH
PS II generates ATP PS I generates NADPH

NADP

NONcyclic
photophosphorylation

ATP
 Light Reactions
• Light-dependent reactions occur on the
thylakoid membranes.
Light and water are required for this
process. Overall input
light energy, H2O
Energy storage molecules are formed.
Overall output
ATP, NADPH, O2
– Oxygen is made as a waste product and
released into the air.
 AN OVERVIEW OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS
• The light reactions
Light
convert solar Chloroplast
energy to chemical
energy NADP
– Produce ATP & NADPH ADP
+P
Calvin
• The Calvin cycle makes Light
reactions
cycle

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
electrons for the reduction of
carbon dioxide to glucose
• Self test questions
1. Where does photosynthesis take place in the leaves?

2. Summarize the overall input and output of light

dependant reactions.

3. In the light reactions, what does electron transport

chains generate?