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Photosynthesis
takesinthe
carbondioxide
producedbyall
breathing
organismsand
reintroduces
oxygenintothe
atmosphere.
Credit:
KPG_Payless|
Shutterstock

WhatIsPhotosynthesis?

Photosynthesis is the
process used by
MORE
plants, algae and
certain bacteria to
harnessenergy from
sunlight into chemical
energy.

There are two types of

photosynthetic processes:
oxygenic photosynthesis and
anoxygenic photosynthesis.
Oxygenic photosynthesis is the
most common and is seen in
plants, algae and cyanobacteria.
During oxygenic photosynthesis,
light energy transfers electrons
from water (H2O) to carbon
dioxide (CO2), which
producescarbohydrates. In this
transfer, the CO2is "reduced," or
receives electrons, and the water
becomes "oxidized," or loses

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becomes "oxidized," or loses

electrons. Ultimately, oxygen is
produced along with
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carbohydrates.

10/14/2016

WhatIsPhotosynthesis?

Advertisement

Oxygenic photosynthesis
functions as a counterbalance to
respiration; it takes in the
carbon dioxide produced by all
breathing organisms and
reintroduces oxygen into the
atmosphere. In his 1998 article,
An Introduction to Photosynthesis and Its
Applications, Wim Vermaas, a
professor at Arizona State
University surmised, without
[oxygenic] photosynthesis, the
oxygen in the atmosphere would
be depleted within several
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be depleted within several

thousand years.

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WhatIsPhotosynthesis?

On the other hand, anoxygenic

MORE
photosynthesis
uses electron
donors other than water. The
process typically occurs in
bacteria such as purple bacteria
andgreen sulfur bacteria. Anoxygenic
photosynthesis does not
produce oxygen hence the
name, saidDavid Baum, professor of
botany at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison. What is
produced depends on the
electron donor. For example,
many bacteria use the bad-eggssmelling gas hydrogen sulde,
producing solid sulfur as a
byproduct.
Though both types of
photosynthesis are complex,
multi-step aairs, the overall
process can be neatly
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process can be neatly

summarized as a chemical
equation.

10/14/2016

WhatIsPhotosynthesis?

OxygenicMORE
photosynthesis is
written as follows:
6CO2+ 12H2O + Light Energy
C6H12O6+ 6O2+ 6H2O
Here, six molecules of carbon
dioxide (CO2) combine with 12
molecules of water (H2O) using
lightenergy . The end result is the
formation of a single
carbohydrate molecule (C6H12O6,
or glucose) along with six
molecules each of breathable
oxygen and water.
Similarly, the various anoxygenic
photosynthesis reactions can be
represented as a single
generalized formula:
CO2+ 2H2A + Light Energy
[CH2O] + 2A + H2O

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[CH2O] + 2A + H2O

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WhatIsPhotosynthesis?

As explained by Govindjee and

John Whitmarsh in "Concepts in
Photobiology: MORE
Photosynthesis and
Photomorphogenesis"

(Narosa
Publishers and Kluwer Academic,
1999) the letter A in the
equation is a variable and H2A
represents the potential electron
donor. For example, A may
represent sulfur in the electron
donor hydrogen sulde (H2S).
The photosynthetic apparatus

The following are cellular

components essential to
photosynthesis.
Pigments
Pigmentsare

molecules that bestow

color on plants, algae and
bacteria, but they are also
responsible for eectively
trapping sunlight. Pigments
ofdierent colors absorb dierent wavelengthsof

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ofdierent colors absorb dierent wavelengthsof

light. Below are the three main
groups.

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WhatIsPhotosynthesis?

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Chlorophylls: These green-colored pigments
are capable of trapping blue and red light.
Chlorophylls have three sub-types, dubbed
chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and chlorophyll c.
According to Eugene Rabinowitch and Govindjee
in theirbook Photosynthesis (Wiley, 1969)
chlorophyll a is found in all photosynthesizing
plants. There is also a bacterial variant aptly
named bacteriochlorophyll, which absorbs
infrared light. This pigment is mainly seen in
purple and greenbacteria , which perform
anoxygenic photosynthesis.
Carotenoids: These red, orange, or yellowcolored pigments absorb bluish-green light.
Examples of carotenoids are xanthophyll (yellow)
and carotene (orange) from which carrots get their
color.
Phycobilins: These red or blue pigments
absorb wavelengths of light that are not as well
absorbed by chlorophylls and carotenoids. They
are seen in cyanobacteria and red algae.
Plastids

Photosyntheticeukaryoticorganisms
contain organelles called plastids
in their cytoplasm. According
toCheong Xin Chan and
Debashish Bhattacharya of

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Debashish Bhattacharya of
Rutgers University (Nature Education,
2010), the double-membraned
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plastids in
plants and algae are
referred to as primary plastids,
while the multiple-membraned
variety found in plankton are
called secondary plastids. These
organelles generally contain
pigments or can store nutrients.
In The Cell: A Molecular Approach 2nd Ed
(Sinauer Associates, 2000),
Georey Cooper enumerates the
various plastids found in plants.
Colorless and nonpigmentedleucoplastsstore fats and
starch, whilechromoplastscontain
carotenoids andchloroplastscontain
chlorophyll.

10/14/2016

WhatIsPhotosynthesis?

Photosynthesis occurs in the

chloroplasts, specically, in the
grana and stroma regions. The
grana is theinnermost portionof the

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grana is theinnermost portionof the

organelle; a collection of discshaped membranes, stacked into
columns MORE
like plates. The
individual discs are called
thylakoids. It is here that the
transfer of electrons takes place.
The empty spaces between
columns of grana constitute the
stroma (The Cell: A Molecular
Approach 2nd Ed, Sinauer
Associates, 2000).

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WhatIsPhotosynthesis?

Chloroplasts are similar

tomitochondriain that they have
their own genome, or collection
of genes, contained within
circular DNA. These genesencode
proteinsessential to the organelle
and to photosynthesis. Like
mitochondria, chloroplasts are
also thought to have originated
from primitive bacterial cells
through the process of
endosymbiosis.

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10/14/2016

endosymbiosis.

WhatIsPhotosynthesis?

Plastids originated from

engulfed MORE
photosynthetic bacteria
that were acquired by a singlecelled eukaryotic cell more than
a billion years ago, Baum told
LiveScience. Baum explained that
the analysis of chloroplast genes
shows that it was once a
member of the groupcyanobacteria,
the one group of bacteria that
can accomplish oxygenic
photosynthesis.
However, Chan and
Bhattacharya (Nature Education,
2010) make the point that the
formation of secondary plasmids
cannot be well explained by
endosymbiosis of cyanobacteria,
and that the origins of this class
of plastids are still a matter of
debate.
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10/14/2016

WhatIsPhotosynthesis?

Antennae

Pigment molecules are

associated
withproteins , which
MORE
allow them the exibility to move
toward light and toward one
another. A large collection of 100
to 5,000 pigment molecules
constitutes "antennae,"
according to Vermaas. These
structures eectively capture
light energy from the sun, in the
form of photons. Ultimately, light
energy must be transferred to a
pigment-protein complex that
can convert it to chemical
energy, in the form of electrons.
In plants, for example, light
energy is transferred to
chlorophyll pigments. The
conversion to chemical energy is
accomplished when a chlorophyll
pigment expels an electron,
which can then move on to an

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which can then move on to an

appropriate recipient.

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WhatIsPhotosynthesis?

Reaction centers
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The pigments andproteins which

convert light energy to chemical
energy and begin the process of
electron transfer are know as
reaction centers, according to
Vermaas.
The photosynthetic process

Anoxygenic photosynthetic and

oxygenic photosynthetic
organisms use dierent electron
donors for photosynthesis.
Moreover, anoxygenic
photosynthesis takes place in
only one type of reaction center,
while oxygenic photosynthesis
takes place in two, each of which
absorbs a dierent wavelength
of light, according to Govindjee
and Whitmarsh. However, the
general principles of the two

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general principles of the two

processes are similar. Below are
the steps of photosynthesis,
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focusing on the process as it
occurs in plants.

10/14/2016

WhatIsPhotosynthesis?

Thereactions of plant photosynthesisare

divided into those that require
the presence of sunlight and
those that do not. Both types
ofreactions take place in chloroplasts: lightdependent reactions in the
thylakoid and light-independent
reactions in the stroma.
Light-dependent reactions(also

called
light reactions): When a photon
of light hits the reaction center, a
pigment molecule such as
chlorophyll releases an electron.
The trick to do useful work, is to
prevent that electron from
nding its way back to its
originalhome , Baum told
LiveScience. This is not easily

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LiveScience. This is not easily

avoided because the chlorophyll
now has an electron hole that
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tends to pull on nearby
electrons. The released electron
manages to escape by traveling
through anelectron transport chain,
which generates theenergy
needed to produce ATP
(adenosine triphosphate, a
source of chemical energy for
cells) and NADPH. The electron
hole in the original chlorophyll
pigment is lled by taking an
electron from water. As a result,
oxygen is released into the
atmosphere.

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WhatIsPhotosynthesis?

Light-independent reactions(also

called
dark reactions): ATP and NADPH
are rich energy sources, which
drive dark reactions. During this
process carbon dioxide and
water combine to form

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water combine to form

carbohydrates like glucose. This
is known as carbon xation.

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WhatIsPhotosynthesis?

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Photosynthesis
in the future

Photosynthesis generates all the

breathable oxygen in the
atmosphere, and renders plants
rich in nutrients. But researchers
have been looking at ways to
further harness the power of the
process.
In his 1998 article, Vermaas
mentions the possibility of using
photosynthetic organisms to
generate clean burning fuels
such as hydrogen or even
methane. Vermaas notes, Even
though methane upon
combustion will form CO2, the
overall atmospheric CO2balance
would not be disturbed as an
equal amount of CO2will have
been taken out of the

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been taken out of the

atmosphere upon methane
production by the
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photosynthetic
organism.

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WhatIsPhotosynthesis?

Advances have also been made

in the eld ofarticial
photosynthesis. A group of
researchers recently developed
anarticial systemto capture carbon
dioxide using nanotechnology
(nanowires). This feeds into a
system of microbes that reduce
the carbon dioxide into fuels or
polymers by usingenergy from
sunlight.
Additional resources
University of California, Berkeley: P

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