PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN HIGHER PLANTS

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. •
Photosynthesis is a chemical process, uses light energy to synthesis organic compounds (sugar).
6CO2 + 12H2O C6H12O6 + 6H2O + 6O2
SITE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Photosynthesis takes place only in green parts of the plant, mostly in leaves, (in chloroplasts of mesophyll
cells of leaves) Chloroplasts are the actual sites for photosynthesis.
• The thylakoid membranes(lamellae) in chloroplast contain most of photosynthetic pigments required for
capturing solar energy to initiate photosynthesis.
Two types of thylakoid membrane(lamellae)
1- Granal lamellae-having PSI and PSII both. For Non-cyclic photophosphorylation.
2- Stromal lamellae - having only PSI. For cyclic photophosphorylation.

ABSORPTION AND ACTION SPECTRUM

PHOTOSYNTHETIC UNIT
(LIGHT HARVESTING COMPLEX)

Reaction Center (chl a) Light harvesting pigment molecules

P700 in PSI or P680 in PSII

Antenna molecules Core molecules

 TWO GROUPS OF PHOTOSYNTHETIC UNIT

MECHANISM OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS
It includes two phases - Photochemical phase and biosynthetic phase.
• Photochemical phase (Light reaction) :This phase includes - light absorption, splitting of water, oxygen
release and formation of ATP and NADPH. It occurs in thylakoids membranes (granal and stromal
lamellae)
1-Cyclic photophosphorylation 2-Non- Cyclic photophosphorylation
• Biosynthetic phase (Dark reaction):It is light independent phase, synthesis of food material (sugars). It
occurs in stroma of chloroplasts
1-C3 Cycle 2- C4 Cycle
CYCLIC PHOTOPHOSPHORYLATION
This form of photophosphorylation occurs on the stroma lamella. In cyclic photophosphorylation, the
high energy electron released from P700 of PS1 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
ferredoxin and then to plastoquinone, then to cytochrome b6f (a similar complex to that found in
mitochondria), and then to plastocyanin before returning to Photosystem-1. This transport chain
produces a proton-motive force, pumping H+ ions across the membrane; this produces a
concentration gradient that can be used to power ATP synthase during chemiosmosis. This pathway is
known as cyclic photophosphorylation, and it produces neither O2 nor NADPH.
N0N- CYCLIC PHOTOPHOSPHORYLATION

Cyt b6- f
complex

C3
CYCLE

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.
1-First, a water molecule is broken down into 2H+ + 1/2 O2 + 2e− by a process called photolysis (or light-
splitting). The two electrons from the water molecule are kept in photosystem II, while the 2H + and
1/2O2 are left out for further use.
2-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.
3-The deficit of electrons is replenished by taking electrons from molecule of water.
4-The electrons transfer from pheophytin to plastoquinone, which takes the 2e− from Pheophytin, and
two H+ Ions from the stroma and forms PQH2, which later is broken into PQ, the 2e− is released
to Cytochrome b6f complex and the two H+ ions are released into thylakoid lumen.
5-The electrons then pass through the Cyt b6 and Cyt f. 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.
6-The photosystem II complex replaced its lost electrons from an external source; however, the two
other electrons are not returned to photosystem II. 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 are passed on to an
enzyme called Ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase which uses them to catalyze the reaction
7-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.
8-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.

Biosynthetic phase (Dark reaction):It is light independent phase, synthesis of food material (sugars). It
occurs in stroma of chloroplasts 1-C3 Cycle 2-C4 Cycle
C3 Cycle

The Calvin Cycle has three stages: carboxylation, reduction and regeneration.

In carboxylation, a five-carbon molecule, ribulose-1-5 bisphosphate, accepts a carbon dioxide molecule

to form an intermediate six-carbon molecule which then splits to form two molecules of 3-
Phosphoglycerate. This reaction is catalyzed RUBISCO. At first, two molecules of 3-Phosphoglycerate
is phosphorylated to two molecules of 1,3, bisphosphoglycerate by utilizing two molecules of ATP in the
presence of the enzyme phosphoglycerate kinase. In reduction, the enzyme glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate
dehydrogenase reduces two molecules of 1,3-biphosphoglycerate to two molecules of glyceraldehyde-3-
phosphate. Two molecules of NADPH are used in this reaction. Thus, to fix one molecule of carbon
dioxide to two molecules of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate, 2 ATP and 2 NADPH are utilized. Six carbon
dioxide molecules are necessary for the formation of one glucose molecule. One carbon dioxide molecule
result in two molecules of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate molecules. Hence, six molecules would yield 12
molecules of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate. Of these 12 molecules, two of them are used to make one
molecule of glucose. The remaining ten glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate molecules make up a total of 30
carbon atoms. These are involved in the regeneration of six molecules of Ribulose bisphosphate, a five-
carbon compound, thus balancing the reaction. In the regeneration phase, one ATP molecule is utilized
to form 1 RUBP. Hence during the Calvin Cycle, one carbon dioxide molecule needs 3 ATP molecules
and 2 NADPH molecules for fixation. Therefore, the net utilization of energy for the formation of one
glucose molecule would be 18 ATP and 12 NADPH molecules.

C4 CYCLE IN C4 PLANTS
PEP - PHOSPHOENOL PYRUVATE(3C) CA - CABBONIC ANHYDRASE
PEPC - PHOSPHOENOL PYRUVATE CARBOXYLASE OA- OXALOACETIC ACID(4C)
M - MALIC ACID NADP-MDH - NADP MALATE DEHYROGENASE
Pry - PYRUVATE OR PURUVIC ACID PPDK - PYRUVATE KINASE
NADP-ME - NADP MALATE ENZYME
C4 plants include many tropical grasses and are among the world's most important crop species
(maize and sugarcane).C4 plants have a distinctive leaf anatomy (Kranz anatomy), with chloroplast-
rich bundle-sheath cells, which form a gas-tight cylinder surrounding the vascular bundle. A
CO2 pump (the C4 cycle) takes CO2 from the mesophyll and transfers it into the bundle sheath,
which contains Rubisco and the enzymes of the Benson–Calvin cycle. The process raises the
concentration of CO2 in the bundle sheath, and is sufficient to saturate Rubisco with CO2 and to
eliminate Photorespiration.
Leaf anatomy of C4 plants
C4 plants are unique in possessing two types of photosynthetic cell . A layer of cells surrounding
the vascular bundle, the bundle-sheath, is a common structural feature. The appearance of a wreath
of cells surrounding the vasculature gives rise to the term ‘Kranz’ (German: wreath) anatomy.
The mechanism of photosynthesis in C4 plants was elucidated in the 1960s by Hatch and Slack in
Australia. C4 plants are so called because the first product of CO2 fixation is a C4 organic acid,
oxaloacetate, formed by the carboxylation of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) by PEP carboxylase. The
oxaloacetate is converted to other C4 acids (malate or aspartate) and transferred to the bundle sheath.
Transport of metabolites between the mesophyll and bundle sheath occurs by diffusion via
plasmodesmata. In the bundle sheath, the C4 acids are decarboxylated to generate CO2, and a C3
compound returns to the mesophyll.