8.1: Overview of Photosynthesis

8.1.1: The Purpose and Process of Photosynthesis

Learning Objective

Describe the process of photosynthesis

Key Points

• Photosynthesis evolved as a way to store the energy in solar radiation as high-energy electrons in carbohydrate molecules.
• Plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, known as photoautotrophs, are the only organisms capable of performing photosynthesis.
• Heterotrophs, unable to produce their own food, rely on the carbohydrates produced by photosynthetic organisms for their energy needs.

Key Terms

photoautotroph

an organism that can synthesize its own food by using light as a source of energy

photosynthesis

the process by which plants and other photoautotrophs generate carbohydrates and oxygen from carbon dioxide, water, and light energy in chloroplasts

chemoautotroph

a simple organism, such as a protozoan, that derives its energy from chemical processes rather than photosynthesis

The Importance of Photosynthesis

The processes of all organisms—from bacteria to humans—require energy. To get this energy, many organisms access stored energy by eating food. Carnivores eat other animals and herbivores eat plants. But where does the stored energy in food originate? All of this energy can be traced back to the process of photosynthesis and light energy from the sun.

Photosynthesis is essential to all life on earth. It is the only biological process that captures energy from outer space (sunlight) and converts it into chemical energy in the form of G3P ( Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate) which in turn can be made into sugars and other molecular compounds. Plants use these compounds in all of their metabolic processes; plants do not need to consume other organisms for food because they build all the molecules they need. Unlike plants, animals need to consume other organisms to consume the molecules they need for their metabolic processes.

The Process of Photosynthesis

During photosynthesis, molecules in leaves capture sunlight and energize electrons, which are then stored in the covalent bonds of carbohydrate molecules. That energy within those covalent bonds will be released when they are broken during cell respiration. How long lasting and stable are those covalent bonds? The energy extracted today by the burning of coal and petroleum products represents sunlight energy captured and stored by photosynthesis almost 200 million years ago.

Plants, algae, and a group of bacteria called cyanobacteria are the only organisms capable of performing photosynthesis. Because they use light to manufacture their own food, they are called photoautotrophs ("self-feeders using light"). Other organisms, such as animals, fungi, and most other bacteria, are termed heterotrophs ("other feeders") because they must rely on the sugars produced by photosynthetic organisms for their energy needs. A third very interesting group of bacteria synthesize sugars, not by using sunlight's energy, but by extracting energy from inorganic chemical compounds; hence, they are referred to as chemoautotrophs.

Photosynthetic and Chemosynthetic Organisms

Photoautotrophs, including (a) plants, (b) algae, and (c) cyanobacteria, synthesize their organic compounds via photosynthesis using sunlight as an energy source. Cyanobacteria and planktonic algae can grow over enormous areas in water, at times completely covering the surface. In a (d) deep sea vent, chemoautotrophs, such as these (e) thermophilic bacteria, capture energy from inorganic compounds to produce organic compounds. The ecosystem surrounding the vents has a diverse array of animals, such as tubeworms, crustaceans, and octopi that derive energy from the bacteria.

The importance of photosynthesis is not just that it can capture sunlight's energy. A lizard sunning itself on a cold day can use the sun's energy to warm up. Photosynthesis is vital because it evolved as a way to store the energy in solar radiation (the "photo-" part) as high-energy electrons in the carbon-carbon bonds of carbohydrate molecules (the "-synthesis" part). Those carbohydrates are the energy source that heterotrophs use to power the synthesis of ATP via respiration. Therefore, photosynthesis powers 99 percent of Earth's ecosystems. When a top predator, such as a wolf, preys on a deer, the wolf is at the end of an energy path that went from nuclear reactions on the surface of the sun, to light, to photosynthesis, to vegetation, to deer, and finally to wolf.

8.1.2: Main Structures and Summary of Photosynthesis

Learning Objective

Describe the main structures involved in photosynthesis and recall the chemical equation that summarizes the process of photosynthesis

Key Points

• The chemical equation for photosynthesis is 
• In plants, the process of photosynthesis takes place in the mesophyll of the leaves, inside the chloroplasts.
• Chloroplasts contain disc-shaped structures called thylakoids, which contain the pigment chlorophyll.
• Chlorophyll absorbs certain portions of the visible spectrum and captures energy from sunlight.

Key Terms

mesophyll

A layer of cells that comprises most of the interior of the leaf between the upper and lower layers of epidermis.

chloroplast

An organelle found in the cells of green plants and photosynthetic algae where photosynthesis takes place.

stoma

A pore in the leaf and stem epidermis that is used for gaseous exchange.

Overview of Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is a multi-step process that requires sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water as substrates. It produces oxygen and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P or GA3P), simple carbohydrate molecules that are high in energy and can subsequently be converted into glucose, sucrose, or other sugar molecules. These sugar molecules contain covalent bonds that store energy. Organisms break down these molecules to release energy for use in cellular work.

Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis uses solar energy, carbon dioxide, and water to produce energy-storing carbohydrates. Oxygen is generated as a waste product of photosynthesis.

The energy from sunlight drives the reaction of carbon dioxide and water molecules to produce sugar and oxygen, as seen in the chemical equation for photosynthesis. Though the equation looks simple, it is carried out through many complex steps. Before learning the details of how photoautotrophs convert light energy into chemical energy, it is important to become familiar with the structures involved.

Chemical equation for photosynthesis

The basic equation for photosynthesis is deceptively simple. In reality, the process includes many steps involving intermediate reactants and products. Glucose, the primary energy source in cells, is made from two three-carbon GA3P molecules.

Photosynthesis and the Leaf

In plants, photosynthesis generally takes place in leaves, which consist of several layers of cells. The process of photosynthesis occurs in a middle layer called the mesophyll. The gas exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen occurs through small, regulated openings called stomata (singular: stoma), which also play a role in the plant's regulation of water balance. The stomata are typically located on the underside of the leaf, which minimizes water loss. Each stoma is flanked by guard cells that regulate the opening and closing of the stomata by swelling or shrinking in response to osmotic changes.

Structure of a leaf (cross-section)

Photosynthesis takes place in the mesophyll. The palisade layer contains most of the chloroplast and principal region in which photosynthesis is carried out. The airy spongy layer is the region of storage and gas exchange. The stomata regulate carbon dioxide and water balance.

Photosynthesis within the Chloroplast

In all autotrophic eukaryotes, photosynthesis takes place inside an organelle called a chloroplast. For plants, chloroplast-containing cells exist in the mesophyll. Chloroplasts have a double membrane envelope composed of an outer membrane and an inner membrane. Within the double membrane are stacked, disc-shaped structures called thylakoids. 

Embedded in the thylakoid membrane is chlorophyll, a pigment that absorbs certain portions of the visible spectrum and captures energy from sunlight. Chlorophyll gives plants their green color and is responsible for the initial interaction between light and plant material, as well as numerous proteins that make up the electron transport chain. The thylakoid membrane encloses an internal space called the thylakoid lumen. A stack of thylakoids is called a granum, and the liquid-filled space surrounding the granum is the stroma or "bed."

Structure of the Chloroplast

Photosynthesis takes place in chloroplasts, which have an outer membrane and an inner membrane. Stacks of thylakoids called grana form a third membrane layer.

8.1.3: The Two Parts of Photosynthesis

Learning Objective

Distinguish between the two parts of photosynthesis

Key Points

• In light-dependent reactions, the energy from sunlight is absorbed by chlorophyll and converted into chemical energy in the form of electron carrier molecules like ATP and NADPH.
• Light energy is harnessed in Photosystems I and II, both of which are present in the thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts.
• In light-independent reactions (the Calvin cycle), carbohydrate molecules are assembled from carbon dioxide using the chemical energy harvested during the light-dependent reactions.

Key Term

photosystem

Either of two biochemical systems active in chloroplasts that are part of photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis takes place in two sequential stages: 

1. The light-dependent reactions;
2. The light-independent reactions, or Calvin Cycle.

Light-Dependent Reactions

Just as the name implies, light-dependent reactions require sunlight. In the light-dependent reactions, energy from sunlight is absorbed by chlorophyll and converted into stored chemical energy, in the form of the electron carrier molecule NADPH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) and the energy currency molecule ATP (adenosine triphosphate). The light-dependent reactions take place in the thylakoid membranes in the granum (stack of thylakoids), within the chloroplast.

The two stages of photosynthesis

Photosynthesis takes place in two stages: light-dependent reactions and the Calvin cycle (light-independent reactions). Light-dependent reactions, which take place in the thylakoid membrane, use light energy to make ATP and NADPH. The Calvin cycle, which takes place in the stroma, uses energy derived from these compounds to make GA3P from CO2.

Photosystems

The process that converts light energy into chemical energy takes place in a multi-protein complex called a photosystem. Two types of photosystems are embedded in the thylakoid membrane: photosystem II ( PSII) and photosystem I (PSI). Each photosystem plays a key role in capturing the energy from sunlight by exciting electrons. These energized electrons are transported by "energy carrier" molecules, which power the light-independent reactions. 

Photosystems consist of a light-harvesting complex and a reaction center. Pigments in the light-harvesting complex pass light energy to two special chlorophyll a molecules in the reaction center. The light excites an electron from the chlorophyll a pair, which passes to the primary electron acceptor. The excited electron must then be replaced. In photosystem II, the electron comes from the splitting of water, which releases oxygen as a waste product. In photosystem I, the electron comes from the chloroplast electron transport chain.

The two photosystems oxidize different sources of the low-energy electron supply,    deliver their energized electrons to different places, and respond to different wavelengths of light.

Photosystems I & II

As explained above, the photosystems manipulate electrons with energy harvested from light. 

Light-Independent Reactions

In the light-independent reactions or Calvin cycle, the energized electrons from the light-dependent reactions provide the energy to form carbohydrates from carbon dioxide molecules. The light-independent reactions are sometimes called the Calvin cycle because of the cyclical nature of the process.

Although the light-independent reactions do not use light as a reactant (and as a result can take place at day or night), they require the products of the light-dependent reactions to function. The light-independent molecules depend on the energy carrier molecules, ATP and NADPH, to drive the construction of new carbohydrate molecules. After the energy is transferred, the energy carrier molecules return to the light-dependent reactions to obtain more energized electrons. In addition, several enzymes of the light-independent reactions are activated by light. 

Attributions

• The Purpose and Process of Photosynthesis
  • "Boundless." http://www.boundless.com/. Boundless Learning CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • "photosynthesis." http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/photosynthesis. Wiktionary CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • "chemoautotroph." http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chemoautotroph. Wiktionary CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • "photoautotroph." http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/photoautotroph. Wiktionary CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • "OpenStax College, Biology. October 16, 2013." http://cnx.org/content/m44446/latest/?collection=col11448/latest. OpenStax CNX CC BY 3.0.
  • "OpenStax College, Biology. October 27, 2013." http://cnx.org/content/m44447/latest/?collection=col11448/latest. OpenStax CNX CC BY 3.0.
  • "OpenStax College, Biology. October 27, 2013." http://cnx.org/content/m44447/latest/?collection=col11448/latest. OpenStax CNX CC BY 3.0.
• Main Structures and Summary of Photosynthesis
  • "OpenStax College, Biology. October 16, 2013." http://openstaxcollege.org/textbooks/biology. OpenStax CNX CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • "stoma." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/stoma. Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • "mesophyll." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/mesophyll. Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • "chloroplast." http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chloroplast. Wiktionary CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • "OpenStax College, Biology. October 27, 2013." http://cnx.org/content/m44447/latest/?collection=col11448/latest. OpenStax CNX CC BY 3.0.
  • "OpenStax College, Biology. October 16, 2013." http://cnx.org/content/m44447/latest/?collection=col11448/latest. OpenStax CNX CC BY 3.0.
  • "OpenStax College, Overview of Photosynthesis. October 16, 2013." http://cnx.org/content/m44447/latest/Figure_08_01_05.png. OpenStax CNX CC BY 3.0.
  • "OpenStax College, Overview of Photosynthesis. October 16, 2013." http://cnx.org/content/m44447/latest/Figure_08_01_04.jpg. OpenStax CNX CC BY 3.0.
  • "OpenStax College, Overview of Photosynthesis. October 16, 2013." http://cnx.org/content/m44447/latest/Figure_08_01_03.jpg. OpenStax CNX CC BY 3.0.
  • "800px-Leaf_Tissue_Structure.svg.png." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Leaf_Tissue_Structure.svg. Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0.
• The Two Parts of Photosynthesis
  • "Boundless." http://www.boundless.com/. Boundless Learning CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • "photosystem." http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/photosystem. Wiktionary CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • "OpenStax College, Biology. October 16, 2013." http://cnx.org/content/m44447/latest/?collection=col11448/latest. OpenStax CNX CC BY 3.0.
  • "OpenStax College, Biology. October 27, 2013." http://cnx.org/content/m44448/latest/?collection=col11448/latest. OpenStax CNX CC BY 3.0.
  • "OpenStax College, Overview of Photosynthesis. October 16, 2013." http://cnx.org/content/m44447/latest/Figure_08_01_06.jpg. OpenStax CNX CC BY 3.0.