Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis
Chloroplasts are organelles, specialized compartments, in plant and algal cells. The main role of
chloroplasts is to conduct photosynthesis, where the photosynthetic
pigment chlorophyll captures the energy from sunlight and converts it and stores it in the
energy-storage molecules ATP and NADPH while freeing oxygen from water. They then use the
ATP and NADPH to make organic molecules from carbon dioxide in a process known as
the Calvin cycle.
A chloroplast is a type of organelle known as a plastid, characterized by its two membranes and
a high concentration of chlorophyll. Other plastid types, such as the leucoplast and
the chromoplast, contain little chlorophyll and do not carry out photosynthesis.

Chlorophyll is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and

the chloroplasts of algae and plants.
Chlorophylls absorb light most strongly in the blue portion of the electromagnetic spectrum as
well as the red portion. Two types of chlorophyll exist in the photosystems of green plants:
chlorophyll a and b.
Chlorophyll is vital for photosynthesis, which allows plants to absorb energy from light.
Chlorophyll molecules are arranged in and around photosystems that are embedded in
the thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts.
In these complexes, chlorophyll serves three functions. The function of the vast majority of
chlorophyll is to absorb light. Having done so, these same centers execute their second
function: the transfer of that light energy by resonance energy transfer to a specific chlorophyll
pair in the reaction center of the photosystems. This pair affects the final function of
chlorophylls, charge separation, leading to biosynthesis.
The two currently accepted photosystem units are photosystem II and photosystem I, which
have their own distinct reaction centres, named P680 and P700, respectively. These centres are
named after the wavelength (in nanometers) of their red-peak absorption maximum.
The function of the reaction center of chlorophyll is to absorb light energy and transfer it to
other parts of the photosystem. The absorbed energy of the photon is transferred to an
electron in a process called charge separation. The removal of the electron from the chlorophyll
is an oxidation reaction. The chlorophyll donates the high energy electron to a series of
molecular intermediates called an electron transport chain.
The charged reaction center of chlorophyll (P680+) is then reduced back to its ground state by
accepting an electron stripped from water. The electron that reduces P680+ ultimately comes
from the oxidation of water into O2 and H+ through several intermediates. This reaction is how
photosynthetic organisms such as plants produce O2 gas, and is the source for practically all the
O2 in Earth's atmosphere. Photosystem I typically work in series with Photosystem II.
LIGHT REACTIONS
Two electron pathways operate in the thylakoid membrane: the noncyclic pathway and
the cyclic pathway. ATP production during photosynthesis is sometimes called
photophosphorylation; therefore these pathways are also known as cyclic and
noncyclic photophosphorylation.
In photophosphorylation, light energy is used to create a high-energy electron donor and
a lower-energy electron acceptor. Electrons then move spontaneously from donor to acceptor
through an electron transport chain.
CYCLIC PHOTOPHOSPHORYLATION
This form of photophosphorylation occurs on the stroma lamella. In cyclic
photophosphorylation, the high energy electron released from P700 flow down in a cyclic
pathway. In cyclic electron flow, the electron begins in a pigment complex called photosystem I,
passes from the primary acceptor to plastoquinone, then to cytochrome and then
to plastocyanin before returning to chlorophyll. This transport chain produces a proton-motive
force, pumping H+ ions across the membrane; this produces a concentration gradient. This
pathway is known as cyclic photophosphorylation, and it produces neither O2 nor NADPH.
Unlike non-cyclic photophosphorylation, NADP+ does not accept the electrons; they are instead
sent back to phytochrome complex.
NON-CYCLIC PHOTOPHOSPHORYLATION
The other pathway, non-cyclic photophosphorylation, is a two-stage process involving two
different chlorophyll photosystems. Being a light reaction, non-cyclic photophosphorylation
occurs in the thylakoid membrane. First, a water molecule is broken down by a process
called photolysis (or light-splitting). The two electrons from the water molecule are kept in
photosystem II, while the H+ and O2 are left out for further use. Then a photon is absorbed by
chlorophyll pigments surrounding the reaction core center of the photosystem. The light excites
the electrons of each pigment, causing a chain reaction that eventually transfers energy to the
core of photosystem II, exciting the two electrons that are transferred to the primary electron
acceptor, pheophytin. The deficit of electrons is replenished by taking electrons from another
molecule of water. The electrons transfer from pheophytin to plastoquinine, cytochrome
complex and two H+ ions are released into thylakoid lumen. The electrons then pass through
the Cytochromes. Then they are passed to plastocyanin, providing the energy for hydrogen ions
(H+) to be pumped into the thylakoid space. This creates a gradient, making H+ ions flow back
into the stroma of the chloroplast, providing the energy for the regeneration of ATP.
The photosystem II complex replaced its lost electrons from an external source; however, the
two other electrons are not returned to photosystem II as they would in the analogous cyclic
pathway. Instead, the still-excited electrons are transferred to a photosystem I complex, which
boosts their energy level to a higher level using a second solar photon. The highly excited
electrons are transferred to the acceptor molecule, but this time is passed on to an enzyme
called Ferredoxin NADP+ reductase which uses them to catalyse the reaction (as shown):
NADP+ + 2H+ + 2e− → NADPH + H+
This consumes the H+ ions produced by the splitting of water, leading to a net production of
1/2O2, ATP, and NADPH+H+ with the consumption of solar photons and water.
The concentration of NADPH in the chloroplast may help regulate which pathway electrons take
through the light reactions. When the chloroplast runs low on ATP for the Calvin cycle,
NADPH will accumulate and the plant may shift from noncyclic to cyclic electron flow.
DARK CYCLE
Photosynthesis starts out using the energy from sunlight to get things started, but it ends with
the dark reactions, which don't need sunshine to complete sugar production. In the Calvin
cycle, ATP and NADPH from the light reactions are used to produce sugars.
CALVIN CYCLE
ATP and NADPH produced by the light reactions are used in the Calvin cycle to reduce carbon
dioxide to sugar. The Calvin cycle actually produces a three-carbon sugar glyceraldehyde 3-
phosphate (G3P). For the Calvin cycle to synthesize one molecule of sugar (G3P), three
molecules of CO2 must enter the cycle.
Photosynthesis occurs in two stages in a cell. In the first stage, light-dependent reactions
capture the energy of light and use it to make the energy-storage and transport
molecules ATP and NADPH. The Calvin cycle uses the energy from short-lived electronically
excited carriers to convert carbon dioxide and water into organic compounds that can be used
by the organism (and by animals that feed on it). This set of reactions is also called carbon
fixation. The key enzyme of the cycle is called RuBisCO.