CHLOROPLAST AND

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

BY

VAISHNAVI.K
D3 bio-tech
 CHLOROPLASTS
Chloroplast is most abundant and common plastids found in all
green plants.
They show great variation in size , shape & number
A cell may have only one large chloroplast measuring over
100m in diameter
Chloroplast may have oval, spheroid or disc-shaped structure
,or it may be band- shaped or ribbon-shaped as in spirogyra.
Chloroplast are usually lens shaped in higher plants, 4 to 6m
in length, &1m thick.
In some cases, it is reported that chloroplasts move actively &
show amoeboid movements.
The concentration of chloroplasts depends on the light
intensity . They are most abundant in the tissues of green plant
such as leaves that perform photosynthesis and less in number
or absence in the root.
Chloroplast multiply by division & disintegrate if their number
exceeds beyond a required level .
Ultra structure of chloroplast
in 1947, S. Granick & k. porter published the first electron
micrograph of the isolated chloroplasts & showed that the
grana appeared as stacks of internal discs.
The outer envelope of a chloroplast is made up of a double
membrane with a structure very similar to that of plasma
membrane.
Each membrane is 6 to8nm thick &the space between them is
10 to20 nm.
The outer membrane is rather rigid structurally .The ground
substance enclosed by a the walls is called the stroma is
consists of lipoproteins enzymes to carry out photosynthesis.
Each granum is a small cylindrical structure about 0.5m in
diameter &made up of small disc-shaped sac one over the
other to form a pile.
Thylakoid sac-like to describe these membranous structure in
each granum these may be 2 to 100 stacked thylakoids
adjacent grana are connected together by small tubules called
intergrana .
 The thylakoid membranes enclose the space, called fret
channel & the space between two thylakoid is called
loculus.
The small discs or flattened spheroids are known as
quantosomes ,
Each quantosome is about 155-158 A in diameter &about
100A in thickness
The chlorophyll along with carotenoid & other chemical compounds
molecules are sandwiched between the layer of electron donors &
acceptors.
 Origin of chloroplasts
the chloroplasts arise from the pre-existing proplastids, which
have a small spheroid body surrounded by double- membrane
wall.
In the presence of sunlight proplastids grows to a size of about 1
in diameter & invigorates its membranous walls to form a vesicle.
These vesicles later on are inter- connected by the formation of
intergana tubules.
pre lamellar body or primary granum may form in the absence of
the sunlight.
in due course of development the primary granum give rise to a
crystalline lattice inside this photosynthetic organelle .
Chemical composition of
chloroplast
The average chemical composition of chloroplast on a dry weight
basis consists of 40-50./. Protein ,23-25./. Phospholipids, 5-
10./.chlorophyll 1-2./. Carotenoids, 3./. RNA & 2-3./-DNA mg is
present in about 2-3./. Of total ash content .the other element such
as Fe & cu.
1. Chlorophylls
2. Carotenoids pigments
3 phycobilins
1 .chlorophylls
The most distinctive lipid components of the chloroplast are the
pigments .among the chlorophylls, chlorophyll a& chlorophyll b are
widely distributed in higher plants.
The chlorophyll molecule is a complex structure basically made up
of a head & tail like a tennis racket.
The head is a hydrophilic porphyrin structure made up of four
pyrrole rings attached to each other at the centre by an isocyclic
ring containing mg atoms at the centre,
 Chlorophyll a is blue green crystalline structure having the
formula c55h72o5n4 mg. & chlorophyll b is a green- black
crystalline structure with the formula c55h70o6n4 mg it is differ
from that at third carbon atom. Methyl group is substituted by
aldehyde group
Photosynthetic pigment have different absorption spectra
Chlorophyll a are 429,410 & 660nm, & chlorophyll b are430,453 &
442 nm.
2 Carotenoids pigments
They are belong to a large group of compounds called terpenoid
They two type, hydrocarbon carotenes & xanthophylls .
They major Carotenoids of higher plant are carotene is also
present .They are derivatives of a red pigment called lycopene found in plants
&microorganisms like cyanobacteria , red algae etc..
The chlorophyll & Carotenoids may be attached to the same portion forming a
complex called photosynthin.
 Carotenoids play a major role in the prevention of
photoxidation of chlorophyll & they absorb solar energy &
transfer it to chlorophyll a.
3. phycobilins
These are also accessory pigments that are involved in the
transfer of light energy to chlorophyll.
Phycobilins are two types phycoerythrin (red) &
phycocyanin (blue). & are found in algal divisions .
the isolation of these pigments in the pure state is difficult
due to their strong association with proteins.
 PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Photosynthesis is the single most important physico - chemical
process of the world that makes possible the existence of life on
earth.
The major function of chloroplast is to convert light energy into
chemical energy .green plants carry out photosynthesis in the
presence sunlight &manufacture sugars from water & carbon
dioxide
During photosynthesis, water is oxidized to oxygen while carbon
dioxide is reduced to sugar
6CO2+12H2O light energy C6H12O6+6o2
chlorophyll (glucose)
park & beggins (1964) coined the term quantosomes for the
photosynthetic units , in middle there is a photosynthetic reaction
centre .
The two photo system involved in light reaction of photosynthesis
are called photo system I & II .it have own type of chlorophyll.
 psI absorbs red light & psII absorbs shorter wave length of red light .
Both the systems contains chlorophyll a ,b & Carotenoids .But psI consists
of more carotenes &less xanthophylls than psII
Both the photo systems works in co-operation to absorb radiant energy
along with electron transport system &the oxidative phosphoryiation
mechanism are located in the lamellae .
This chemical energy is used to fix the carbon dioxide into sugar .in the
Calvin cycle in the stroma .
Stroma play a role in the anabolism of fatty acid & amino acids.
LIGHT REACTIONS
Photosynthesis involves in two reactions, first reaction is
carried out in the presence of light it is called the light
reaction .
The second reaction in the process of photosynthesis is
independent of light known as black man reaction .
Light reaction is the primary process of energy transduction
that take place in the thylakoid membrane as a
photochemical reaction.
This reaction involves phosphorylation & photolysis of
water.
NADP+ADP+Pi+H2O light ATP+NADPH2+O2
 PHOTOLYSIS OF WATER
This reaction in the presence of a suitable electron
acceptor such as ferricyanide . The ferricyanide is reduced
to ferrocyanide by the photolysis of water i.e. / splitting
of water molecules in the presence of light
This have fact ,that oxygen evolved during light reaction
is form water & not form carbon dioxide . using heavy
isotope of oxygen (o18).
6CO2+ 12H20 LIGHT ENERGY C6H12O6+6H20+6O2
CHLOROPHYLL glucose
PHOTOPHOSPHORYLATION
The in put of energy in the process of photosynthesis is the visible
light ,which has the characteristics of both a particle &a wave the
energy of the particle, the photon , can be expressed in terms of its
ability to do electric work as in a solar cell,
The high energy electrons is transported through the electron
transport system (ETS) presence in the thylakoid membrane ,the
electrons is de- energized energy released during ETS is used to
build high-energy phosphate bounds in ATP. since the synthesis of
ATP takes place in the presence of light , the process is called
photophosphorylation.
ADP+ Pi + ENERGY light ATP.
chlorophyll
photophosphorylation they are two kinds they depend on the
presence of oxygen .
A. cyclic photophosphorylation .
B. non-cyclic photophosphorylation
A. cyclic photophosphorylation
In this type of only one photo system (psI ) is involved &the electron lost
by the chlorophyll molecules. Returns to psI it called cyclic photophosphorylation .
The electron emitted by the chlorophyll that is excited due to absorption of photon is
accepted by electron acceptor, ferrodoxin.
Then it is passed through the ETC consisting of electron carriers like plasoquinone,
cytochrome b/f complex & finally plastocyanine.
This reaction lead to formation of ATP &it does not need water as electron donor &
there is no reduction of NADP .
PLASTOQUINONE
ATP
cytochrome B/F
ADP+Pi
(700 nm) ferrodoxin
photon plastocyanine e-

psI e- psI acceptor

B .NON-CYCLIC
PHOTOPHOSPHORYLATION
Here the electron emitted by chlorophyll a does not return it
involved two coupled photo system psI & ps II that are activated by
two wave lenght 680 &700nm.
Z-scheme for electron transport in non cyclic photophosphorylation
it describes the flow of electrons along with their redox potential
from water through the two systems to NADP.
The electron carriers , plastoquinones, cytochrome b ,& f ,&
plastocyanins
in ps II 1 reaction is the oxidation of chlorophyll due to light absorption of
p680 reaction centre .this reduces the pigment phaeophytin that reduces
plastoquinone , the carrier to the cytochrome b/f complex .
The oxidized p680 extracts an electron from the electron donor ,called carrier Z
which in turn extracts an electron from donor m .
second photo chemical reaction occur in photo system I is excited by the photons of
700 nm .
Subsequent loss of an electron causes the p 700 to re oxidize plastocyanine .reduced
ferrodoxin is the ultimate product of the system involves several intermediate like
electron carrier like chlorophylla,phylloquinone
 Finally the electron transferred through ferrodoxin &
flavoprotein is used for reduction of NADP .
The significant features of this reaction is release of
oxygen in addition to formation of ATP & NADPH that
further utilized in the dark reaction.
 DARK REACTION
o It is discovered by black man (1905) it is the second
reaction in the photosynthesis which is independent of
light ,hence it is called dark reaction
o It is thermo chemical reaction in which NADPH &ATP are
used to reduce atmosphericco2 to form carbohydrates .
o The carbon assimilation phase that occur inside the stroma
of chloroplast .
CO2+ATP+NADPH2 (CH2O)n + NADP +ADP
+ Pi