Chap 7 Notes

Making Food from Sunlight

There are so many organisms doing photosynthesis on Earth that their by-products change
the Earth's environment on a global scale. All green organisms -- whether bacteria, plants,
archaea, protists, or even some purple organisms -- convert CO 2 into glucose using the
same chemical reactions and light-harvesting molecules. Over a billion years ago, the
first photosynthesizers multiplied so much that they transformed the anaerobic atmosphere
into an aerobic one rich enough in oxygen to support animal and fungal life. These same
photosynthesizers may be the key to reducing CO 2 levels in our atmosphere to prevent
further global climate change.

Plants are known as producers, or more specifically autotrophs, in that they can make their
own food, which can also be used as organic fuel for most other organisms. Because they
use the energy of light, plants and other photosynthesizers are specifically
called photoautotrophs.

Photoautotrophs produce organic fuel for the consumers or the heterotrophs, that can't
make their own food but consumes other plants or animals.

Photosynthesis Overview

While you may not want to eat your vegetables, we owe our existence to plants and other
organisms that capture light energy.
Photosynthesis is when light energy is converted to chemical energy in the form of sugars.
Photosynthesis is an example of one of the five themes in biology: Interactions. In other
words, the light energy drives the process by which glucose molecules are constructed from
water and carbon dioxide. Water supplies the hydrogen atoms, and CO 2 from the air
provides both the carbon and the oxygen atoms in the newly made carbohydrate.

Terms to Know in Photosynthesis:

1. Chloroplast
2. Chlorophyll
3. Mesophyll
4. NADPH
5. Light Reactions
6. Calvin cycle
7. Stroma
8. Thylakoid membrane
9. Grana
10. Thylakoid space
11. Stomata (singular: stoma)
12. carbon fixation
13. G3P (glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate)
14. RuBP (ribulose bisphosphate)

The glucose molecules are the fuel that cells use to generate ATP in cellular respiration. Of
course, the carbon atoms in glucose can also be used to build other types of organic
molecules needed by cells.

Photosynthesis occurs in chloroplasts in plant cells. While all green parts of a plant have
chloroplasts in their cells, most photosynthesis happens in leaves, concentrated in a zone of
leaf tissue called the mesophyll. The plant's green color comes from a light-absorbing
pigment* in the chloroplasts called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is needed to convert solar
energy to chemical energy.

*Pigments are a complex group of molecules produced by living organisms that can absorb
specific colors of the electromagnetic spectrum and reflect others. Chlorophyll is the
primary pigment in plants that gives them a green color. Chlorophyll absorbs yellow and
blue wavelengths of light but reflects green wavelengths. Where else are you familiar with
biological pigments? Think tomatoes (pent: lycopene), carrots (pigment: beta-carotene), and
even skin (pigment: melanin).
No, you do not need to know this for the test.

CO2 enters the leaf in photosynthesis, and O 2 exits through small pores
called stomata (singular: stoma). Water is absorbed by the roots and is transported to the
leaves via specialized transport veins. Transport veins also move sugar made in the leaves to
the roots and other parts of the plant.

Inside the chloroplasts are two membranes containing an inner compartment called
the stroma filled with a thick fluid. Suspended in the stroma is a system of interconnected
sacs of membranes called thylakoids. Thylakoids enclose an additional internal
compartment, the thylakoid space. Thylakoids are often concentrated together in a stack
called grana. The chlorophyll molecules that absorb the light energy are embedded in the
thylakoid membranes. These membranes are also the site of much of the machinery that
ultimately converts light energy into chemical energy. The chemical energy is used in the
stroma of the chloroplast to make sugar. The specific arrangement of the membranes and
compartments of the chloroplasts is an example of the biology theme of Structure and
Function.

The pathway the electrons follow to go from water molecules to carbon dioxide molecules is
a long and winding one that passes from inside the thylakoid space of a chloroplast,
bounces around inside the thylakoid membrane, and then exits into the stroma of the
chloroplast, where the electrons are finally attached to carbon dioxide, enabling them to be
joined together into molecules of glucose. Solar energy pushes the electrons along the way
and provides the extra energy to form the covalent bonds between the six carbons (that
came from carbon dioxide) of glucose molecules. The resulting glucose molecules then
launch on their own long voyage that takes them around the entire living world.
Photosynthesis occurs in two stages linked by ATP and NADPH molecules (note
that NADH, which we learned about in cellular respiration, and NADPH are two different
energy-carrying molecules).

1. The light reactions occur in and on and inside the thylakoid

membranes of chloroplasts. In this step, water is split, releasing
electrons to continue the process. The by-product of this reaction,
O2, is released from the chloroplast. The electrons donated by water are
transferred to the electron acceptor NADP +, reducing it to NADPH. The
energy that allows this to happen comes from the sun and is absorbed
by the chlorophyll molecules embedded in the thylakoid membrane.
ATP is also generated as a result of light reactions. NADPH carries the
electrons to the next stage of photosynthesis.
2. The Calvin cycle is the next stage that occurs in the stroma of the
chloroplast. The Calvin cycle's reactions generate sugar molecules
using CO2 and the NADPH generated by the light reactions. There is a
particular name for incorporating inorganic CO 2 into organic
compounds: carbon fixation. ATP from the light reactions provides
the energy needed by several steps of the Calvin cycle. Because the
Calvin cycle does not require light to proceed, it is often (and
misleadingly) called the dark reaction. The Calvin cycle does not
require light, but in most photosynthesizes, it occurs during
 daylight when the light reactions actively provide the NADPH and ATP
needed.

Photosynthesis is a redox (oxidation and reduction) process in which electrons are stripped
away from water molecules (in an oxidation reaction) and added to carbon dioxide
molecules (in a reduction reaction). You may recall from prior modules that redox reactions
are an example of the biological theme: Transformation of Energy and Matter, introduced in
Module 1.

Glucose molecules first nourish the cells in which they are made. Many ATP molecules are
made when glucose is transported out of chloroplasts to be broken down by aerobic
respiration in the plant cell's cytoplasm and mitochondria.

The cell produces much more glucose than it can use. Excess glucose is transported in the
plant to be shared with plant organs and tissues that can't do photosynthesis -- like woody
stems, buried roots, and colored flower petals. After this sharing within the plant, excess
glucose is then used to make starch molecules, which can safely be stored in tubers, stems,
and fruits.

Animals and other heterotrophs then "steal" this starch hidden in potato tubers, grassy
stems, and fruits.
So, in the end, those electrons and that energy from the sun captured in glucose provide
the energy and building material for almost every living thing on earth.

Your job in this Chapter is to be able to follow the winding pathway of electrons through
the photosynthetic cell structures (thylakoid space, thylakoid membranes, and stroma) to be
stored in glucose molecules ultimately. You have already learned in Chapter 6 how those
electrons are released from glucose in the process of aerobic respiration.

The Energy of Light

Sunlight is a type of energy called electromagnetic energy or radiation that travels

in waves that divide light into specific wavelengths. The electromagnetic spectrum is the full
range of these waves that run from very short gamma rays to very long radio waves. Visible
light consists of wavelengths that are about 380 nm to 750 nm. Most of these wavelengths
are not visible to the human eye.

Energy can also be described as discrete packets of energy called photons. The shorter the
wavelength, the more energy is found in a photon. This is why wavelengths shorter than
visible light (UV, X-Ray, Gamma-rays) have enough energy to damage molecules of proteins
and nucleic acids. Think sunburn and skin cancer!

We mentioned previously one light-absorbing molecule (or pigment - think of the pigments
that artists use to create works of art, they are the same type of molecule) built into the
thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts and needed in photosynthesis, chlorophyll a. All
pigments absorb specific wavelengths of light and reflect others. A leaf is green; it is the
green wavelength that is not absorbed; instead, it is reflected back to our eyes.
Chloroplasts contain more pigments than chlorophyll a, which is found in the light reactions.
Others needed in photosynthesis include chlorophyll b and carotenoids (think of the
carotenoids found in carrots - carotenoids have a photoprotective role in our eyes. What
wavelength of light do carotenoids reflect? (Hint: What color are carrots?)

Each pigment absorbs different wavelengths of light and, as a result, different amounts of
energy in those photons.

When a pigment molecule absorbs a photon, one of the pigment's electrons jumps to
an excited state, any place farther away from the atom's nucleus. Like all high-energy states,
the excited state is unstable, so the electron will quickly drop back down to a lower energy
state or an area closer to the atom's nucleus. The excess energy is released as either heat or
light, or both.

A good example is the phenomenon of fluorescence. As shown below in this particular

example of the pigment chlorophyll, when an excited electron drops back down to a lower
energy state, the energy is released as heat and light, which are visible to our eyes.

The following section will learn about light-harvesting complexes composed of both
proteins and their bound chlorophyll molecules: photosystems.

The Light Reactions

Recall the first law of thermodynamics - energy cannot be created or destroyed, only
transferred and transformed. Let's see how the first law of thermodynamics applies to the
process of photosynthesis.

As mentioned on the previous page, a photosystem is a complex that can harvest light
energy.

There are two different complexes in a photosystem:

 1. a reaction-center complex - a special chlorophyll a molecule and a molecule called
the primary electron acceptor
2. a light-harvesting complex - different pigment molecules bound to proteins

Two different types of photosystems cooperate in photosynthesis: photosystem

I and photosystem I. They were named in order of how they were found, and as it turns out,
photosystem II functions before photosystem I!

Together these two photosystems work together to create NADPH and ATP.

This is an excellent example of when it is best to study images (below) to understand the
process and use analogies whenever possible.

For example, the analogy below is an excellent example of what happens after an electron is
captured by the reaction center of photosystem II and transferred to what is called
the primary electron acceptor.

 The energy from a photon boosts an electron from photosystem II to a

higher energy state.
 The electron passes down an electron transport chain, releasing energy
that ultimately (after a few extra steps) can be used to create ATP.
  The electron reaches photosystem I and is again boosted to a higher
energy state by another photon of light. (Note: it takes two photons
for this photosystem to run once)
 From there, the electron is passed to a molecule of NADP+, which, as a
result, is reduced to NADP. Follow the process using the analogy
below:

The analogy does a great job of helping us see some of the big pictures, but there are a few
more points we should be aware of. Follow along in the images below.

 As it turns out, the electrons that ultimately reduce NADP + come from water already
inside the cell. An enzyme splits water into two hydrogen ions (H +) and one oxygen
atom, which immediately pairs with another atom of oxygen to form a molecule of
O2 - this is where the O2 produced by photosynthesis ultimately comes from - it will
then diffuse out of the thylakoid, the chloroplasts, and the plant cells through
stomata or opening in the leaf tissue.
 The electron from water is captured by the reaction center of chlorophyll a and the
primary electron acceptor in photosystem II and is boosted to a higher energy state.
 From there, electrons are passed down an electron transport chain. The energy
released in these reactions is used to transport H+ into the thylakoid space. This, as
well as the H+ ions released when water is split, creates a concentration gradient
across the thylakoid membrane.

 This concentration gradient drives H+ through ATP synthase, producing AT. Because
the initial energy input is from light, this reaction is called photophosphorylation
(What are the other two types of phosphorylation reactions needed in cellular
respiration ? This is our third type; all result in the addition of a phosphate to
substrates.)
 The energy-carrying molecule NADPH enters the second phase of photosynthesis,
the Calvin cycle.
The Calvin Cycle

The Light Reactions tell us how ATP and NADPH are formed, but not how the carbohydrate
glucose is produced. However, the energy from ATP and the electrons from NADPH are
responsible for reducing CO2 to an intermediary compound (G3P, glyceraldehyde 3-
phosphate) in a metabolic cycle called the Calvin cycle. Plant cells use G3P to make glucose,
sucrose, and other organic molecules as needed.

The Calvin cycle is a true cycle in that the starting material (RuBP, ribulose bisphosphate) is
regenerated after the cycle is complete. (Recall the other metabolic cycle we studied in
Chapter 6 - the citric acid cycle).
The Calvin cycle must run three times to reduce CO 2 to G3P entirely. The image below
hypothetically starts with three molecules of CO2 so that the cycle shows a complete G3P
molecule at the end.

The Calvin cycle can be thought of as being four steps. While you won't have to go into all
the details, be sure you understand what is in this lesson and can recall the pertinent facts.
For example, if given the four steps (either the name or a description of it), would you be
able to put them in the correct order? Would you be able to name the starting and ending
molecules and the role of ATP and NADPH?)

STEP 1 - Carbon Fixation

 A chemical reaction with CO2 and a five-carbon sugar, RuBP, produces 2, three-
carbon molecules. Thus for three molecules of CO2, a total of 6 three-carbon
molecules are made. (You do not need to know the name of this product unless you
take Biochemistry at some point).

STEP 2 - Reduction

 Two different chemical reactions use energy from ATP and electrons donated by
NADPH to reduce the six three-carbon products in STEP 1 to 6 molecules of three-
carbon G3P.

STEP 3 - Release of one molecule of G3P

  For every three molecules of CO2 that enter the Calvin Cycle, one molecule of G 3P is
released. The other five molecules of G 3P stay in the cycle to regenerate the starting
material, RuBP.

STEP 4 - Regeneration of RuBP

 In a series of chemical reactions that use ATP, the atoms in the five G3P molecules (15
carbon atoms) are rearranged to form three RuBP molecules (also 15 carbon
atoms...1st Law of Thermodynamics!)

While there are other methods to fix carbon other than the Calvin cycle, we won't go into
them in this class. Be sure to check out 7.11 if you are interested in learning more about
mechanisms, such as one that pineapples, many cacti, and other succulent plants have
developed to conserve water.

The Global Significance of Photosynthesis

We have already discussed how photosynthesis is responsible for all living organisms by
converting the sun's electromagnetic energy into carbohydrates' chemical energy, such
as glucose and free oxygen.

 The carbohydrates are consumed for fuel in cellular respiration and serve as starting
materials for making other organic molecules such as the plant's proteins and lipids.
Extra carbohydrate is stored as starch, a polymer of glucose, which serves as a food
source for other organisms.

We hear a lot of fossil fuels in the media and in discussions. You now know that these fossil
fuels actually come from the remains of organisms that had removed CO 2 from the
atmosphere by photosynthesis hundreds of millions of years ago!

When fossil fuels are burned, the stored CO 2 is released into the atmosphere - and as a
result, it has increased the level of CO 2 in the atmosphere by more than 45% in the last 150
years. Unfortunately, this much extra CO2 does not increase the productivity of consumable
plants. Instead, weeds such as poison ivy increase more than those of crop plants and trees.

Study section 7.13 discusses different mechanisms by which scientists study the effects of
increasing CO2. Different lines of experiments have been and continue to be used. This is a
crucial characteristic of science - using multiple lines of study and data to test hypotheses.

Can you briefly describe three research methods that scientists use to test the hypothesis
that increasing levels of CO2 will affect the growth of plants?
You've probably heard the term 'greenhouse gas' before. It's an excellent analogy for what
we are experiencing due to increasing levels of CO 2 in the atmosphere. The solar energy that
enters the Earth's atmosphere is absorbed by greenhouse gasses such as CO2, methane, and
water vapor. As a result, more solar energy than is needed is trapped in the atmosphere -
and is reflected back to the Earth as heat. This is a significant contributor to climate change
or the long-term directional change to the global climate that has existed for three decades
or more. Climate change is more than just increased surface temperature. It also shifts wind
and participation patterns and increases extreme weather events. As a result, ice caps are
melting, and the sea level is rising, among many other documented and predicted effects of
climate change.

The next time someone states they don't believe in climate change...you have the scientific
facts to know and understand differently. In this course, we have learned about atoms,
molecules, chemical reactions, the scientific process, macromolecules, cellular processes,
and much more - with more to come in the last three modules.

While you may never be able to change someone's long-held beliefs, you can use your
knowledge to improve your own little section of the Earth. As they say, it's all we've got...