GENERAL BIOLOGY 1

Ms. Eloisa Jan Tagod | 2nd Quarter – Lesson 2: Photosynthesis

Topic Outline:
● Light-Dependent Reaction 2. Water Splitting
● Light-Independent Reaction (Calvin Cycle) Water molecules are
split into oxygen and
protons (H+) through a
INTRODUCTION
process called
TOPIC
photolysis
SUB-TOPIC

PHOTOSYNTHESIS
3. Electron
 The process by which plants use sunlight, water, and carbon Transport Chain
dioxide to create oxygen and energy in the form of sugars. Excited electrons from
 Photosynthesis reflects green light, giving plants their green the water
color. molecules are
 6 C O2 +¿ 6 H 2 O → C 6 H 12 O6+ 6 O2 transferred
LIGHT-DEPENDENT REACTION through a series of
 Also known as the "light reactions" are a crucial part of protein complexes
photosynthesis in plants and some microorganisms embedded in the
 Reactions that occur in the thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts. thylakoid
 The primary function of membrane,
the light-dependent creating a flow of
reactions is to convert electrons.
light energy into 4. ATP and
chemical energy in the NADPH
form of ATP Formation
(adenosine As electrons move through the
triphosphate) and transport chain, they generate a proton
NADPH (nicotinamide gradient across the thylakoid
adenine dinucleotide membrane. The flow of protons back
phosphate). into the stroma through ATP synthase
generates ATP. Electrons are ultimately
 Primary input for the light-dependent reactions is light energy
transferred to NADP+ to produce
 GOAL: collect energy from the sun and break down water
NADPH.
molecules to produce ATP and NADPH
LIGHT-INDEPENDENT
 Input: Light and H2O
REACTION (CALVIN CYCLE)
 Output: ATP and NADPH
 Uses the electrons
General Equation
from the light-
The light-dependent
dependent
reactions take place
reactions to
in the thylakoid membranes
energize the
of organelles called
process,
chloroplasts. The overall equation for photosynthesis shows that it is
particularly during
a redox reaction; carbon dioxide is reduced and water is oxidized to
the conversion of
produce oxygen.
inorganic
Reduced
compounds into
gaining of the electron
organic compounds, such as carbohydrates. They do not require
Oxidized
light or energy from the sun to initiate the reaction.
loss of electrons
 Harness energy from the sun to produce chemical bonds. These
1. Photon Absorption
energy-carrying molecules
Chlorophyll and other pigments in the chloroplasts absorb photons
are made in the stroma. The
(light energy)
Calvin cycle is not totally
independent on light since it
relies on ATP and NADH.
Aintchilllllll | 1
 The overall inputs of light-independent reactions are carbon bisphosphoglycerate to ADP producing 3-phosphoglycerate (3-
dioxide, NADPH, and ATP. PGA) and ATP:
 The final output of the reaction is glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate  1,3-bisphosphoglycerate + ADP ⇌ glycerate 3-phosphate + ATP
which is transformed into glucose.  NADPH – both energy and hydrogen atom are lost, back to NADP+
 GOAL: Use stored chemical energy to “fix” CO2 and create a  ATP -> ADP
product that can be converted into glucose 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate
P-C-C-C-P
 Input: CO2, NADPH, ATP
G3P Dehydrogenase
 Output: NADP, ADP, G3P (Two G3P can be made into
 Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase is an enzyme
Glucose)
1. Fixation  catalyzes the transformation of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate to
glycerate-1, 3-biphosphate, a process accompanied by the
 In the stroma, RuBisCO
production of NADH
catalyzes a reaction between
3. Regeneration of RuBP
CO2 and RuBP. For each CO2
molecule that reacts with one  At this point, only one of the G3P molecules leaves the Calvin
RuBP, two molecules of 3- cycle and is sent to the cytoplasm to contribute to the formation
phosphoglyceric acid (3-PGA) of other compounds needed by the plant.
form.  Because the G3P exported from the chloroplast has three carbon
 The number of carbon atoms atoms, it takes three “turns” of the Calvin cycle to fix enough
remains the same, as the atoms net carbon to export one G3P. But each turn makes two G3Ps,
move to form new bonds during thus three turns make six G3Ps.
the reactions. This process is called carbon fixation because  One is exported while the remaining five G3P molecules remain
CO2 is “fixed” from an inorganic form into organic molecules. in the cycle and are used to regenerate RuBP, which enables the
 3 atoms of 3CO2 + 15 atoms of 3RuBP = 18 atoms in 3 atoms system to prepare for more CO2 to be fixed. Three more
of 3-PGA molecules of ATP are used in these regeneration reactions.
RuBisCo  G3P has 3 atoms of Carbon so there are 6 G3P = 18 Carbon
ribulose 5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase atoms
catalyses the first step of carbon fixation 6G3P to RuBP
common pathway of carbon fixation in all plants C-C-C-C-C <- RuBP
RuBP C-C-C <- for glucose (C6H12O6)
ribulose bisphosphate, is a 5-carbon molecule that is involved in the C-C-C
Calvin cycle C-C-C
P-C-C-C-C-C-P C-C-C
3-PGA C-C-C
3-Phosphoglyceric acid C-C-C
monophosphoglyceric acid having the phospho group at the 3- C-C-C
position There are 6 G3P
P-C-C-C-P 1 G3P for glucose
3 intermediate molecules that has 6 carbon atoms 5 G3P for RuBP to be used in the Carbon Fixation cycle
Unstable so they split into two
3CO2 + 3RuBP
| C-C-C | C-C-C |
| C-C-C | C-C-C |
| C-C-C | C-C-C |
Total of 6 molecules of 3-PGA
2. Reduction of 3-PGA
 ATP and NADPH are used to convert the six molecules of 3-
PGA into six molecules of a chemical called glyceraldehyde 3-
phosphate (G3P). Six molecules of both ATP and NADPH are
used.
 For ATP, energy is released with the loss of the terminal
phosphate atom, converting it to ADP; for NADPH, both energy
and a hydrogen atom are lost, converting it into NADP+
PGA Kinase
 Phosphoglycerate kinase is an enzyme that catalyzes the
reversible transfer of a phosphate group from 1,3-

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