Describe the

factors of
electron flow
through light
reaction events
GROUP 2
 Cyclic electron flow

• Cyclic electron flow is also observed in the chloroplasts of green

plants. It results in the production of ATP but not O2 or NADPH. Only
photosystem I is present in this reaction. In cyclic electron flow, the
electrons that were excited by P700 move along a chain of electron
carriers. However, they never reach NADP+. Once they reach ferrodoxin,
they are tansferred to the cytochrome bf complex. Then, in the process
of being transferred to plastocyanin, an ATP molecule is made from
ADP and Pi. From the plastocyanin, they flow back to the P700+. These
reactions are meant to produce ATP from ADP and inorganic phosphate
in a process called cyclic photophosphorylation by pumping protons
across the thylakoid membrane.
• This cyclic pathway may be used when a plant has enough NADPH but
requires synthesis of ATP.
In light reaction I, P700+ recovers electrons from plastocyanin,
which in turn receives them from intermediate carriers,
including the plastoquinone pool and cytochrome b and
cytochrome f molecules. The pool of intermediate carriers may
receive electrons from water via light reaction II and the
quinones. Transfer of electrons from water to ferredoxin via
the two light reactions and intermediate carriers is
called noncyclic electron flow. Alternatively, electrons may be
transferred only by light reaction I, in which case they are
recycled from ferredoxin back to the intermediate carriers.
This process is called cyclic electron flow.
 Non-cyclic Electron Transport in
Photosynthesis.

Photophosphorylation refers to the use of

light energy to ultimately provide the
energy to convert ADP to ATP, thus
replenishing the universal energy
currency in living things.
 The pathway of electrons
The general features of a widely accepted mechanism for photoelectron
transfer, in which two light reactions (light reaction I and light reaction II)
occur during the transfer of electrons from water to carbon dioxide, were
proposed by Robert Hill and Fay Bendall in 1960. This mechanism is
based on the relative potential (in volts) of various cofactors of the
electron-transfer chain to be oxidized or reduced. Molecules that in their
oxidized form have the strongest affinity for electrons (i.e., are strong
oxidizing agents) have a low relative potential. In contrast, molecules that
in their oxidized form are difficult to reduce have a high relative potential
once they have accepted electrons. The molecules with a low relative
potential are considered to be strong oxidizing agents, and those with a
high relative potential are considered to be strong reducing agents.
 Photosystem I (PSI, or plastocyanin-
ferredoxin oxidoreductase)

• Is the second photosystem in the

photosynthetic light reactions of algae,
plants, and some bacteria
• Is an integral membrane protein
complex that uses light energy to
produce the high energy carriers ATP
and NADPH.

• PSI comprises more than 110 cofactors,

significantly more than photosystem II.[3]
 Photosystem II (or water-plastoquinone
oxidoreductase) the second

• is the first protein complex in the light-dependent

reactions of oxygenic photosynthesis
• It is located in the thylakoid membrane of plants,
algae, and cyanobacteria. Within the photosystem,
enzymes capture photons of light to energize
electrons that are then transferred through a variety
of coenzymes and cofactors to reduce plastoquinone
to plastoquinol
• The energized electrons are replaced by oxidizing
water to form hydrogen ions and molecular oxygen.
• provides the electrons for all of photosynthesis to
occur.