Energy in the Biosphere

Photosynthesis (& respiration)

Photosynthesis
● Photosynthesis is the process by which energy is captured
from sunlight by plants and some bacteria (autotrophs).
● It is driven by the absorption of light by pigments inside
bacteria and plant chloroplasts.
● Chloroplasts are cellular organelles that capture energy
from the sun and gives plants their green color.
○ Organelle : a specialized part of a cell such as nucleus,
mitochondria, lysosome, ribosome etc, analogous to an
organ in an animal.
● Internal structure of a chloroplast is shown in the next slide.
Chloroplast
Overview of Photosynthesis
● Energy efficiency of conversion of simple inorganic inputs to
new phytomass (phyto = plant) is quite low, global average ≈
0.33% on land and the maximum is about 4%.
● A simplistic view of the photosynthesis reaction:
6CO2 + 12H2O + photons → C6H12O6 + 6O2 + 6H2O
The first product on the right is glucose, a monosaccharide.
● Photosynthesis makes use of chlorophyll found in
cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants.
● Two types: a & b. Type ‘a’ absorbs in the region 420-450 nm
(blue) & Type ‘b’ absorbs in the region 630-690 nm (red).
● Green and yellow region of the solar spectrum is unused by
green plants!
Chlorophyll molecules

Note the presence of an Mg ion in these molecules. There are several types a
(universal), b (plants), c1, c2 (algae), d, f (cyanobacteria). Type a, b are shown
here and differ only by one group: a methyl or aldehyde
A type of Cyanobacteria A type of Algae
ATP
● Energy absorbed by the pigments drives many complex
reactions and results in the production of NADP and ATP.
● NADP is a coenzyme which plays an important role in
anabolic reactions such as carbohydrate, lipid and nucleic
acid synthesis.
● ATP is used in cells as a coenzyme and is often called the
"molecular unit of currency" of intracellular energy transfer.
● ATP transports chemical energy within cells for metabolism.
● ATP gets used in many cellular processes such as
biosynthesis, motility, and cell division.
● ATP releases about 50kJ/mol (0.5 eV/molecule) energy on
hydrolysis to ADP and an inorganic phosphate (Pi).
ATP Structure

● Molecular mass: 507.18 g/mol

● Energy content: 50 kJ/mol
C3, C4 & CAM
● Incorporation of C from CO2 in the atmosphere into
carbohydrates can happen along three different routes known
as C3 , C4 & CAM.
● Vast majority of plants have adopted the C3 route (staples such
as rice and wheat & most other plants!).
○ C3 means that the first product of carbon fixation has 3 carbon atoms.
Similarly, for C4, the first C fixation product has 4 carbon atoms.
● C4 is used by a small number of plants such as corn, sorghum
( jowar) & sugarcane.
● Under favorable conditions C4 process is more energy efficient
than C3.
● CAM (crassulacean acid metabolism) is used by a few succulent
plants growing in arid conditions such as pineapple & aloe vera.
Rice, Wheat, most other plants! Sugar cane, Corn, Sorghum Pineapple, Cacti, Aloe Vera
 Calvin cycle used by C3 plants for carbon fixation

3-PGA:
3-Phosphoglyceric
acid

G3P:
Glyceraldehyde
3-phosphate

RuBP:
Ribulose 1,5
Biphosphate
Mitochondria - Powerhouse of Cells
● Plants consume a significant share of the carbohydrates
produced for their own needs of energy by oxidizing them.
● Production of energy happens in special organelles known as
mitochondria and it is used to maintain basic functions such
as transport of sugars or starches from leaves to stem &
roots, the uptake of macro & micronutrients from the soil &
their assimilation into useful organic compounds.
● Energy is also used to make complex organic compounds
needed for their metabolism, making roots, stems, trunks and
defense against animals, particularly insects.
● Each cell may contain some 20 to 2500 mitochondria in it.
They convert substances such as carbohydrates, proteins
and fats into energy using oxygen.
Cell Structure
Mitochondria - Structure
Structure & Function
 An
Overview
of
Mitochon-
drial
Function
Efficiency of Photosynthetic Process
● Respiration claims less than a fifth of photosynthesis products in crops. The
rest are stored in seeds etc.
● In mature trees most of the photosynthate are spent in maintenance such
as replacing aging and damaged parts.
● The maximum net efficiency of photosynthesis is approximately four per
cent of total radiation.
● Intensively irrigated & fertilized crops can average two per cent efficiency;
temperate and tropical forests have 1.5% at best. Global landmass average
is about 0.33%.
● Phytoplankton in the oceans convert less than 0.1% of sunlight into new
biomass.
● Average NPP for the entire biosphere is less than 0.2%.
● The best calculations show an annual net primary production (NPP) of
about 120 Gt (billion tonnes) on the continents and 110 Gt in the ocean.
Energy in Forests
● Forests are the most productive ecosystems. The greenery of
forests is limited primarily by temperature and precipitation.
● Tropical rainforests need at least one meter of rain a year and
an average annual temperature of more than 20 °C.
● Temperate climate forests need temperatures between 0 and
20 °C and rainfall from half a meter to two meters a year.
● The annual rates of NPP (in absolutely dry matter) range:
○ Tropical rainforests: 1–3.5 kg/m2 (10–35 tonnes/hectare)
○ Temperate forests: 0.5–2.5 kg/m2
○ Grasslands: 0.2–1.5 kg/m2 .
● Energy content of dry wood varies in the range 17-21 MJ/kg.
● Other low energy plant matter such as leaves & stalks have
lower energy content, but > 10 MJ/kg.
NPP - Net Primary Productivity
● NPP rates are highest for C4 crops grown under optimum
conditions the global high for sugarcane (a C4 plant) is
80-100 t/ha (60-75 t/ha dry matter) and that for corn (C4 ) is 12
t/ha (10 t/ha dry matter).
● The numbers are less for the C3 plants. Best harvests of
wheat are around 8 t/ha (7 dry) and in the case of rice 6 t/ha
(5 dry). Leguminous crops (beans, lentils, peas) yield mostly
less than 2 t/ha (1.7 dry - that is why they are
expensive!), but many vegetables can produce in excess of
50 t/ha (5 dry).
● As for biomass from land the NPP will be 120 billion tonnes
divided by the land area of Earth (= 14.9 billion ha). The
number turns out to be 8.6 t/ha which looks reasonable.
Photosynthesis
A Tour of the Cell