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Chapter 7:
Photosynthetic Organisms: organisms that transform solar energy
into the chemical energy of carbohydrates.
(Algae, plants, cyanobacteria)
Photosynthesis: A process that captures solar energy and transform it
into chemical energy that’s end up stored in a carbohydrate.

Autotrophs: Organisms having the ability to synthesize their food

Heterotrophs: Organisms that must take in preformed organic
“Both use organic molecules produced by photosynthesis as a source
of chemical energy for cellular work”
Autotrophs and heterotrophs relation:
• Autotrophs harness the energy from the sun and provide gases &
nutrients for heterotrophs
• Heterotrophs generate chemical energy and produce carbon
dioxide and water
Photosynthesis:
• Photosynthetic Organisms:
o Occurs in the green portions of plants
o Leaf of flowering plant contains mesophyll tissue with
chloroplasts that specialized to carry on photosynthesis
o Roots absorb water that moves up vascular tissue
o CO2 enters leaf through small openings called stomata
▪ Diffuses into chloroplasts in mesophyll cells
▪ Thylakoid membranes of chloroplast contain chlorophyll
that absorbs solar energy and drives photosynthesis
▪ Electrons are energized in the process
▪ In the stroma, CO2 combines with H2O to form C6H12O6
• The Process of Photosynthesis:
o redox reaction
▪ Oxidation: is the loss of hydrogen atoms
▪ Reduction: is the gain of hydrogen atoms
o electrons are accompanied by hydrogen ions

The Role of NADP+ /NADPH:

• CO2 reduction requires energy and H atoms
• NADP+ is the active redox coenzyme of photosynthesis
• Van niel showed that O2 given off by photosynthesis comes
from water and not from CO2
• Researchers later confirmed using the isotope oxygen
• When water splits, O2 is released & the hydrogen atoms are
taken up by NADPH
• NADH later reduces CO2 to CHO
Light Reactions: take place only in the presence of light
• energy-capturing reactions
• Chlorophyll in thylakoid membranes absorbs solar energy,
which energizes electrons
• Electrons move down an electron transport chain
“Pumps H+ into thylakoids and it used to make ATP out of ADP
and NADPH out of NADP+”
Calvin cycle reactions: take place in the stroma
• Melvin Calvin, used carbon isotopes to trace carbon in
photosynthesis
• CO2 is reduced to a carbohydrate
• Reactions use ATP and NADPH to produce carbohydrate
• Reduction requires the ATP and NADPH produced in the light
reaction
Plants as Solar Energy Converters:
• Pigments and photosystems
o Pigments: Chemicals that absorb certain wavelengths of light
o Wavelengths that are not absorbed by pigments are reflected
or transmitted
“Most of the radiation reaching the Earth is within the visible-
light range, Higher-energy wavelengths are screened out by the
ozone layer, Lower-energy wavelengths are screened out by
water vapor and carbon dioxide”
• Absorption spectrum: graph showing relative absorption of the
. various colors of the rainbow
• Spectrophotometer: An instrument that measures the amount
. of light which passes through sample
• Chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b: Main pigment in plants for
photosynthesis that absorbs much of the reds and blues of white
light and reflect most of the green light.
• Carotenoid: an accessory photosynthetic pigment that absorb
light in the violet-blue-green range and reflect yellow and
orange light
• photosystem consists of:
o Pigment complex (molecules of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b
and the carotenoids)
o Electron acceptor molecules that help collect solar energy
like an “antenna”
o Located in the thylakoid membranes
“The light reactions consist of two alternate electron pathways
Noncyclic pathway and Cyclic pathway”
Electron Flow in the Light Reactions:
• Both cyclic and noncyclic pathways produce ATP, noncyclic
pathway also produces NADPH
• The light reactions utilize two
light‐gathering units:
Photosystem I (PSI) and
Photosystem II (PSII)
• During the light reactions
electrons usually follow a
noncyclic pathway that
begins with PS II
Noncyclic Electron Pathway:
• In thylakoid membrane
• PS II captures light energy
• Noncyclic pathway begins with photosystem II causes an electron
to be ejected from the reaction center and move to nearby electron
acceptor molecules
• Electron travels down electron transport chain to PS I
• PS II takes replacement electron from H2O which splits releasing
O2 and H+ ions
• H+ ions accumulate in the thylakoid space and contribute to a H+
gradient which is used to produce ATP
• Low‐energy electrons leave the electron transport chain enter PS I
• PS I capture light energy and ejects the energized electron from
the reaction center chlorophyll a
• The electron is transferred permanently by electron acceptors to a
molecule of NADP+ causes NADPH production
• NADPH and ATP produced are used by the Calvin cycle reactions
in the stroma in the reduction of carbon dioxide to a carbohydrate
Noncyclic Electron Pathway:
Cyclic Electron Pathway:
• Uses only PS I
• High energy electrons leave PS I reaction center
o Travels down the ETC causes H+ to concentrate in thylakoid
chambers which causes ATP production
o Electron returns to PS I (cyclic)
• Pathway only results in ATP production
• Occurs in many prokaryotes, and at high O2 levels in eukaryotes

Plants Convert Solar Energy “in thylakoid membrane”

• PS II:
o Consists of a pigment complex and electron acceptors
o Receives electrons from the splitting of water
o Oxygen is released as a gas
• Electron transport chain (ETC):
o Consists of cytochrome complexes and plastoquinone
o Carries electrons from PS II to PS I via redox reactions
o Also pumps H+ from the stroma into the thylakoid space
• PS I:
o Consists of a pigment complex and electron acceptors
o Adjacent to NADP reductase that reduces NADP+ to
NADPH
• ATP synthase complex:
o Has a channel for H+ flow
o An enzyme that joins ADP + Pi
o H+ flow through the channel drives ATP synthase to join
ADP and Pi to each other
Organization of a Thylakoid:
ATP Production:
• The thylakoid space acts as a reservoir for H+
o Each time water is oxidized, 2 H+ remain in the
thylakoid space
o Transfer of the electron in the ETC yields energy that
used to pump H+ from the stroma into the thylakoid space
• The flow of H+ back across thylakoid membrane energizes ATP
synthase thus producing ATP from ADP + Pi
o This method is called chemiosmosis since it is tied to an
electrochemical H+ gradient
Plants Fix Carbon Dioxide “Calvin cycle”:
Three phases of Calvin cycle:
• Carbon dioxide fixation
o Atmospheric CO2 enters the stroma of the chloroplast via the
stomata of the leaves
o CO2 is attached to RuBP(5‐carbon molecule) which result in
a 6-carbon molecule, which splits into two 3- carbon
molecules (3PG)
o Reaction is accelerated by RuBP carboxylase
o CO2 now “fixed” because it is part of a carbohydrate
• Carbon dioxide reduction
o Each 3PG molecules undergoes reduction to G3P
o ATP phosphorylates each 3PG molecule and creates BPG
o BPG is then reduced by NADPH to G3P
o This stage utilizes NADPH and some ATP produced in the
light reactions and G3P is reduced and chemically able to
store more energy and form larger organic molecules
• Regeneration of RuBP
o RuBP used in CO2 fixation must be replaced
o Every three turns of the Calvin cycle, one G3P exits

The Calvin Cycle Reactions:

Other Types of Photosynthesis:
• Most plants carry out C3 photosynthesis
• The first detected molecule following fixation is
the 3- carbon molecule 3PG
• C3 plants use the enzyme RuBP carboxylase to
fix CO2 to RuBP in mesophyll cells

• Photorespiration:
o In hot dry conditions Stomata must close to avoid wilting
and in leaves CO2 decreases and O2 increases then O2
starts combining with RuBP, leading to the production of
CO2
• C4 Photosynthesis:
o C4 plants solve the problem of photorespiration as they fix
CO2 to PEP forming oxaloacetate
o In C4 plants the bundle sheath cells,
as well as the mesophyll cells,
contain chloroplasts
o The mesophyll cells are arranged
concentrically around the bundle
sheath cells
o The enzyme PEP carboxylase (PEPCase)
fixes CO2 to PEP (a C3 molecule) forming
oxaloacetate (a C4 molecule)

o Oxaloacetate is reduced to malate, which is pumped into

the bundle sheath cells
o A molecule is broken down into CO2 which enters the
Calvin cycle
• Chloroplast Distribution in C4 vs. C3 Plants

• Photosynthetic Rate in C4 vs. C3

o In hot and dry climates:
▪ Net productivity of C4 is about 2‐3 times of C3 plants
▪ C4 plants avoid photorespiration as PEPCase, unlike
RuBP carboxylase, does not combine to O2
▪ Even when stomata are closed, CO2 is delivered to the
Calvin cycle in the bundle sheath cells
o In cool, moist environments:
▪ C4 plants can’t compete with C3 plants
• CAM Photosynthesis (Crassulacean‐acid metabolism):
o CAM plants separate carbon fixation by time rather than
physically as seen in C4 plants
o During the night:
CAM plants use PEPCase to fix some CO2 then form
malate which stored in large vacuoles in mesophyll cells
o During daylight:
NADPH and ATP are available, Stomata closed for water
conservation, but CO2 cannot enter photosynthesizing
tissues so C4 molecules (malate) formed at night release
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
• Photosynthesis and Adaptation to the Environment:
o Each method of photosynthesis has its advantages and
disadvantages, depending on the climate
▪ C4 plants most adapted to:
 High light intensities
 High temperatures
 Limited rainfall
▪ C3 plants better adapted to:
 Cold (below 25°C)
 High moisture
▪ CAM plants are better adapted to extreme aridity