Photosynthesis in higher plants
Photosynthesis : Photosynthesis is an enzyme regulated anabolic process of manufacture of
organic compounds inside the chlorophyll containing cells from carbon dioxide and water
with the help of sunlight as a source of energy.
Historical Perspective Joseph Priestley (1770) : Showed that plants have the ability to take
up CO 2 from atmosphere and release O .
Jan Ingenhousz (1779) : Release of O 2 by plants was possible only in sunlight and only by
the green parts of plants.
Theodore de Saussure (1804) : Water is an essential requirement for photosynthesis to
occur.
Julius Von Sachs (1854) : Green parts in plant produce glucose which is stored as starch.
T. W. Engelmann (1888) : The effect of different wavelength of light on photosynthesis and
plotted the first action spectrum of photosynthesis. C. B.
Van Niel (1931) : Photosynthesis is essentially a light dependent reaction in which hydrogen
from an oxidisable compound reduces CO to form sugar. He gave a simplified chemical
equation of photosynthesis.
Hill (1937) : Evolution of oxygen occurs in light reaction.
Calvin (1954-55) : Traced the pathway of carbon fixation.
Hatch and Slack (1965) : Discovered C 4 pathway of CO fixation.
Site for photosynthesis : Photosynthesis takes place only in green parts of 2 the plant,
mostly in leaves. Within a leaf, photosynthesis occurs in mesophyll cells which contain the
chloroplasts. Chloroplasts are the actual sites for photosynthesis. The thylakoids in
chloroplast contain most of pigments required for capturing solar energy to initiate
photosynthesis. The membrane system (grana) 2 is responsible for trapping the light energy
and for the synthesis of ATP and NADPH. Biosynthetic phase (dark reaction) is carried in
stroma.
Pigments involved in photosynthesis
Chlorophyll
There are five major types of chlorophyll: a, b, c, d, and bacteriochlorophyll. In higher
plants, chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b are the main photosynthetic pigments.
Chlorophyll a appears bright or blue-green in the chromatogram, whereas;
chlorophyll b appears yellow-green. The chlorophyll molecule consists of 2 parts:
1. Porphyrin ring: It makes the head part of chlorophyll which has a
central magnesium atom surrounded by a nitrogen-containing porphyrin ring.
2. Phytol chain: It makes the tail of chlorophyll. It is hydrophobic in nature and is
made up of carbon and hydrogen.
The structure of chlorophyll is similar to the haemoglobin molecule found in the RBC of
mammals. Chlorophyll a is the principal pigment, whereas other pigments are accessory
pigment or antenna pigment.
Xanthophyll : (Yellow)
Carotenoids : (Yellow to yellow-orange) In the blue and red regions of spectrum shows
higher rate of photosynthesis.
Light Harvesting Complexes (LHC) : The light harvesting complexes are made up of
hundreds of pigment molecules bound to protein within the photosystem I (PSI) and
photosystem II (PSII). Each photosystem has all the pigments except one molecule of
chlorophyll ‘a’ forming a light harvesting system (antennae). The reaction centre (chlorophyll
a) is different in both the photosystems.
Photosystem I (PSI) : Chlorophyll ‘a’ has an absorption peak at 700 nm (P700).
Photosystem II (PSII) : Chlorophyll ‘a’ has absorption peak at 680 nm (P680).
Process of photosynthesis : It includes two phases - Photochemical phase and biosynthetic
phase.
(i) Photochemical phase (Light reaction) : This phase includes - light absorption, splitting
of water, oxygen release and formation of ATP and NADPH.
(ii) Biosynthetic phase (Dark reaction) : It is light independent phase, synthesis of food
material (sugars).
Photophosphorylation : The process of formation of high-energy chemicals (ATP and
NADPH).
Non Cyclic photophosphorylation : Two photosystems work in series − First PSII and then
PSI. These two photosystems are connected through an electron transport chain (Z. Scheme).
Both ATP and NADPH + H are synthesised by this process. PSI and PSII are found in
lamellae of grana, hence this process is carried here.
Cyclic photophosphorylation : Only PSI works, the electron circulates within the
photosystem. It happens in the stroma lamellae (possible location) because in this region PSII
and NADP rectase enzyme are absent. Hence only ATP molecules are synthesised.
The electron transport (Z-Scheme) : In PS II, reaction centre (chlo. a) absorbs 680 nm
wavelength of red light which make the electrons to become excited. These electrons are
taken up by the electron acceptor that passes them to an electron transport system (ETS)
consisting of cytochromes. The movement of electron is down hill. Then, the electron pass to
PSI and move down hill further.
The splitting of water : It is linked to PS II. Water splits into H , O and electrons.
Chemiosmotic Hypothesis : Chemiosmotic hypothesis explain the mechanism of ATP
synthesis in chloroplast. In photosynthesis, ATP synthesis is linked to development of a
proton gradient across a membrane. The electrons are accumulated inside of membrane of
thylakoids (in lumen). ATPase has a channel that allows diffusion of protons back across the
membrane. This releases energy to activate ATPase enzyme that catalyses the formation of
ATP.
Plants : ATP and NADH, the products of light reaction are used in synthesis of Biosynthetic
phase in C food. The first CO 2 3 fixation product in C plant is 3-phosphoglyceric acid or
PGA. The CO 2 3 acceptor molecule is RuBP (ribulose bisphosphate). The cyclic path of
sugar formation is called Calvin cycle on the name of Melvin Calvin, the discoverer of this
pathway.
Calvin cycle proceeds in three stages :
(1) Carboxylation : CO combines with ribulose 1, 5 bisphosphate to form 3 PGA in the
presence of RuBisCo enzyme. 2
(2) Reduction : Carbohydrate is formed at the expense of ATP and NADPH.
(3) Regeneration : The CO acceptor ribulose 1, 5-bisphosphate is formed again . 2, 6 turns
of Calvin cycles and 18 ATP molecules are required to synthesize one molecule of glucose.
The C4 pathway : C4 plants have special type of leaf anatomy, they tolerate higher
temperatures. In this pathway, oxaloacetic acid (OAA) is the first stable product formed. It is
4 carbon atoms compound, hence called C 4 pathway (Hatch and Slack Cycle).
The leaf has two types of cells : mesophyll cells and Bundle sheath cells (Kranz anatomy).
Initially CO 2 4 is taken up by phosphoenol pyruvate (PEP) in mesophyll cells and changed
to oxaloacetic acid (OAA) in the presence of PEP carboxylase. Oxaloacetate is reduced to
maltate/asparate that reach into bundle sheath cells. and formation of pyruvate (3C). In high
CO The oxidation of maltate/asparate occurs with the release of O concentration RuBisCo
functions as carboxylase and not as oxygenase, the photosynthetic losses are prevented.
RuBP operates now under Calvin cycle and pyruvate transported back to mesophyll cells and
changed into phosphoenol pyruvate to keep the cycle continue.
Photosrespiration : The light induced respiration in green plants is called photorespiration.
In C 3 plants some O 2 binds with RuBisCo and hence CO fixation is decreased. In this
process RuBP instead of being converted to 2 molecules of PGA binds with O to form one
molecule of PGA and phosphoglycolate.
Law of Limiting Factors : If a chemical process is affected by more than one factor, then its
rate will be determined by the factor which is nearest to its minimal value. It is the factor
which directly affects the process if its quantity is changed.
Factors affecting photosynthesis :
1. Light
2. Carbondioxide
3. Temperature
4. Water
