Photosynthesis:

Life from Light

AP Biology
 Energy needs of life
 All life needs a constant input of energy
 Heterotrophs
 get their energy from “eating others”
 consumers of other organisms
 consume organic molecules
 Autotrophs
 get their energy from “self”
 get their energy from sunlight
 use light energy to synthesize organic
molecules

AP Biology
 How are they connected?
Heterotrophs
making energy & organic molecules from ingesting organic molecules

glucose + oxygen  carbon + water + energy

dioxide
C6H12O6 + 6O2  6CO2 + 6H2O + ATP

Autotrophs
making energy & organic molecules from light energy

carbon + water + energy  glucose + oxygen

dioxide
6CO2 + 6H2O + light  C6H12O6 + 6O2
AP Biology energy 2005-2006
 Energy cycle sun

Photosynthesis

CO2 H2O glucose O2

Cellular Respiration
The Great Circle
of Life! ATP
AP Biology Where’s Mufasa?
 What does it mean to be a plant
 Need to…
 collect light energy
 transform it into chemical energy
 store light energy
 in a stable form to be moved around the plant
& also saved for a rainy day
 need to get building block atoms from
the environment
 C,H,O,N,P,S
 produce all organic molecules needed for
growth
 carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, nucleic acids
AP Biology
 Plant structure
 Obtaining raw materials
 sunlight
 leaves = solar collectors
 CO2
 stomates = gas exchange
regulation
 Found under leaves
 H2O
 uptake from roots
 nutrients
 uptake from roots
AP Biology 2005-2006
 Plant structure
 Chloroplasts
 double membrane
 stroma

 thylakoid sacs

 grana stacks

 Chlorophyll & ETC in

thylakoid membrane
 H+ gradient built up
within thylakoid sac
+H
+H +
H H H + H+ H+ HH+
+
+ +
H+ H
AP Biology
 Pigments of photosynthesis

Why does this

structure
make sense?
 chlorophyll & accessory
pigments
 “photosystem”
 embedded in thylakoid

membrane
 structure  function
AP Biology 2005-2006
 Light: absorption spectra
 Photosynthesis performs work only with
absorbed wavelengths of light
 chlorophyll a — the dominant pigment —
absorbs best in red & blue wavelengths & least
in green
 other pigments with different structures have
different absorption spectra

AP Biology
 Photosynthesis overview
 Light reactions
 convert solar energy to chemical energy
 ATP

 Calvin cycle
 uses chemical
energy (NADPH & ATP)
to reduce CO2 to
build C6H12O6 (sugars)

AP Biology
 Photosystems
 Photosystems
 collections of chlorophyll molecules
 2 photosystems in thylakoid membrane
 act as light-gathering “antenna complex”
 Photosystem II
 chlorophyll a
 P680 = absorbs 680nm
wavelength red light
 Photosystem I
 chlorophyll b
 P700 = absorbs 700nm
wavelength red light

AP Biology
 Light reactions
 Similar to ETC in cellular respiration
 membrane-bound proteins in organelle
 electron acceptors

 NADPH
 proton (H+)
gradient across
inner membrane
 ATP synthase

enzyme

AP Biology 2005-2006
 ETC of Photosynthesis
 ETC produces from light energy
 ATP & NADPH
 NADPH (stored energy) goes to Calvin cycle
 PS II absorbs light
 excited electron passes from chlorophyll to
“primary electron acceptor” at the REACTION
CENTER.
 splits H2O (Photolysis!!)
 O2 released to atmosphere
 ATP is produced for later use

AP Biology
ETC of Photosynthesis  Chloroplasts transform light
energy into chemical energy
of ATP
 use electron carrier NADPH

split H2O
AP Biology 2005-2006
 2 Photosystems
 Light reactions
elevate electrons in
2 steps (PS II & PS I)
 PS II generates
energy as ATP
 PS I generates
reducing power as
NADPH

This shows Noncyclic

photophosphorylation.
AP Biology 2005-2006
 ETC of Photosynthesis

AP Biology
 ETC of Photosynthesis

AP Biology
 Cyclic photophosphorylation
 If PS I can’t pass
electron to NADP,
it cycles back to
PS II & makes
more ATP, but no
NADPH
 coordinates light
reactions to Calvin
cycle
 Calvin cycle uses
more ATP than
NADPH

AP Biology 2005-2006
 Photosynthesis summary so far…
Where did the energy come from?
Where did the H2O come from?
Where did the electrons come from?
Where did the O2 come from?
Where did the H+ come from?
Where did the ATP come from?
Where did the O2 go?
What will the ATP be used for?
What will the NADPH be used for?

AP Biology
 From Light reactions to Calvin cycle
 Calvin cycle
 Chloroplast stroma
 Need products of light reactions to
drive synthesis reactions
 ATP
 NADPH

AP Biology 2005-2006
 From CO2  C6H12O6
 CO2 has very little chemical energy
 fully oxidized
 C6H12O6 contains a lot of chemical energy
 reduced
 endergonic

 Reduction of CO2  C6H12O6 proceeds in

many small uphill steps
 each catalyzed by specific enzyme
 using energy stored in ATP & NADPH

AP Biology
 Calvin cycle
ribulose bisphosphate 1C CO2
1. Carbon fixation
3. Regeneration RuBP
5C Rubisco
unstable
3 ATP 6C intermediate
ribulose
PGAL 3 ADP
to make bisphosphate
glucose carboxylase
PGAL PGA
sucrose
cellulose 3C x2 2x 3C
etc.

2. Reduction
6 NADPH 6 ATP
6 NADP 2x 6 ADP
AP Biology
3C
 Rubisco
 Enzyme which fixes carbon from
atmosphere
 ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase
 the most important enzyme in the world!

 it makes life out of air!

 definitely the most abundant enzyme

AP Biology
 Calvin cycle
 PGAL
 end product of Calvin cycle
 energy rich sugar

 3 carbon compound

 “C3 photosynthesis”

 PGAL   important intermediate

PGAL   glucose   carbohydrates
 lipids
 amino acids
AP Biology
 nucleic acids
 Photosynthesis summary
 Light reactions
 produced ATP
 produced NADPH

 consumed H O
2
 produced O as byproduct
2

 Calvin cycle
 consumed CO2
 produced PGAL

 regenerated ADP

 regenerated NADP

AP Biology 2005-2006
 Summary of photosynthesis
6CO2 + 6H2O + light  C6H12O6 + 6O2
energy
 Where did the CO2 come from?
 Where did the CO2 go?
 Where did the H2O come from?
 Where did the H2O go?
 Where did the energy come from?
 What’s the energy used for?
 What will the C6H12O6 be used for?
 Where did the O2 come from?
 Where will the O2 go?
 What else is involved that is not listed in this
equation?
AP Biology 2005-2006