Chapter 10

Lecture Outline

Plant Metabolism

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 Outline
 Introduction

 Enzymes and Energy Transfer

 Photosynthesis

 Respiration

 Additional Metabolic Pathways

 Assimilation and Digestion

 Introduction
 Photosynthesis - Converts light energy to a
usable form

 Respiration - Releases stored energy

• Facilitates growth, development and reproduction

 Metabolism - Sum of all interrelated

biochemical processes in living organisms

 Animals rely on green plants for oxygen,

food, shelter and other products.
 Enzymes and Energy Transfer
 Enzymes regulate metabolic activities.
• Anabolism - Forming chemical bonds to build
molecules
– Photosynthesis reactions - Store energy by
constructing carbohydrates by combining carbon
dioxide and water
• Catabolism - Breaking chemical bonds
– Cellular respiration reactions - Release energy held in
chemical bonds by breaking down carbohydrates,
producing carbon dioxide and water
• Photosynthesis-respiration cycle involves transfer
of energy via oxidation-reduction reactions.
 Enzymes and Energy Transfer
 Oxidation-reduction reactions
• Oxidation - Loss of electron(s)
• Reduction - Gain of electron(s)
• Oxidation of one compound usually coupled with
reduction of another compound, catalyzed by
same enzyme or enzyme complex.
• Hydrogen atom is lost during oxidation and
gained during reduction.
• Oxygen is usually final acceptor of electron.
 Photosynthesis
 Energy for most cellular activity involves
adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
• Plants make ATP using light as an energy
source.
– Takes place in chloroplasts and other green parts of
the organisms

6CO2+12H2O + light  C6H12O6+6O2+6H2O

– Many intermediate steps to process, and glucose is not

immediate first product.
 Photosynthesis
 Carbon dioxide reaches chloroplasts in
mesophyll cells by diffusing through
stomata into leaf interior.
• Use of fossil fuels, deforestation, and other
human activities add more carbon dioxide to
atmosphere than is removed.
– Has potential to cause global increases in temperature
– May enhance photosynthesis
 Photosynthesis
 Less than 1% of all water absorbed by plants
used in photosynthesis.
• Most of remainder transpired or incorporated into
plant materials.

 Water is source of electrons in

photosynthesis and oxygen is released as
by-product.

 If water is in short supply or light intensities

too high, stomata close and thus reduce
supply of carbon dioxide available for
photosynthesis.
 Photosynthesis
 About 40% of radiant energy received on
earth is in form of visible light.
• Violet to blue and red-orange to red wavelengths
are used more extensively.
• Green light is reflected.
• Leaves commonly absorb
about 80% of visible light
reaching them.
• Light intensity varies with
time of day, season,
altitude, latitude, and
atmospheric composition. Visible light passed through prism
 Photosynthesis
 Plants vary considerably in light intensities
needed for optimal photosynthetic rates.

 Temperature and amount of carbon dioxide

can also be limiting.
 Photosynthesis
 If light and temperatures too high - Ratio of
carbon dioxide to oxygen inside leaves may
change.
• Accelerates photorespiration, which uses oxygen and
releases carbon dioxide
– May help some plants survive under adverse conditions

 If light intensity too high - Photooxidation

occurs, which results in destruction of
chlorophyll.
 If water in short supply or light intensities too
high, stomata close and thus reduce supply of
carbon dioxide available for photosynthesis.
 Photosynthesis
 Several types of chlorophyll molecules
• Magnesium end captures light.
• Lipid tail anchors into thylakoid membrane.
• Most plants contain chlorophyll a (blue-green color)
and chlorophyll b (yellow-green color).
– Chlorophyll b transfers energy from light to chlorophyll a.
o Makes it possible for photosynthesis to occur over
broader spectrum of light

Chlorophyll a
molecule
 Photosynthesis
 Other photosynthetic pigments include
carotenoids (yellow and orange), phycobilins
(blue or red, in cyanobacteria and red algae),
and several other types of chlorophyll.
 About 250-400 pigment molecules grouped in
light-harvesting complex = photosynthetic unit.
• Two types of photosynthetic units work together in
light-dependent reactions.
 Two phases of photosynthesis:
• Light-dependent reactions
• Light-independent reactions
 Photosynthesis
Major Steps of Photosynthesis
 Light-dependent reactions:
• In thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts
• Water molecules split apart, releasing electrons
and hydrogen ions; oxygen gas released.
• Electrons pass along electron transport system.
• ATP produced.
• NADP is reduced, forming NADPH (used in light-
independent reactions).
 Photosynthesis
Major Steps of Photosynthesis
 Light-independent reactions:
• In stroma of chloroplasts
• Utilize ATP and NADPH to form sugars
• Calvin cycle
– Carbon dioxide combines with RuBP (ribulose
bisphosphate) and then combined molecules are
converted to sugars (glucose).
– Energy furnished from ATP and NADPH produced
during light-dependent reactions.
 Photosynthesis
A Closer Look: Light-Dependent Reactions
 Each pigment has its own distinctive pattern of
light absorption = pigment’s absorption
spectrum.
• When pigments
absorb light, energy
levels of electrons are
raised.
– Energy from an excited
electron is released
when it drops back to
its ground state.
– In photosynthesis,
energy is stored in
chemical bonds.
 Photosynthesis
A Closer Look: Light-Dependent Reactions
 Two types of photosynthetic units:
photosystem I and photosystem II.
• Events of photosystem II come before those of
photosystem I.
• Both can produce ATP.
• Only organisms with both photosystem I and
photosystem II can produce NADPH and oxygen
as a consequence of electron flow.
 Photosynthesis
A Closer Look: Light-Dependent Reactions
 Photosystem I = chlorophyll a, small amount of
chlorophyll b, carotenoid pigment, and P700
• P700 = reaction-center molecule - Only one that actually
can use light energy
• Remaining pigments = antenna pigments
– Gather and pass light energy to reaction center
• Iron-sulfur proteins - Primary electron acceptors, first
to receive electrons from P700
 Photosystem II = chlorophyll a, B-carotene, small
amounts of chlorophyll b, and reaction-center
molecule: P680
• Pheophytin (Pheo) - Primary electron acceptor
 Photosynthesis
A Closer Look: Light-Dependent Reactions
 Photosynthesis
A Closer Look: Light-Dependent Reactions
 Photolysis - Water-splitting, Photosystem II
• Light photons absorbed by P680, which boosts
electrons to higher energy level.
• Electrons passed to acceptor molecule, pheophytin,
then to PQ (plastoquinone), then along electron
transport system to photosystem I.
• Electrons extracted from water replace electrons lost
by P680.
• One molecule of oxygen, 4 protons and 4 electrons
produced from two water molecules.
 Photosynthesis
A Closer Look: Light-Dependent Reactions
 Electron flow and photophosphorylation
• Electron transport system consists of cytochromes, other
electron transfer molecules and plastocyanin.
• Photons move across thylakoid membrane by
chemiosmosis.
• Phosphorylation - ATP is formed from ADP.
 Photosynthesis
A Closer Look: Light-Dependent Reactions
 Photosystem I
• Light absorbed by P700, which boosts electrons to higher
energy level.
• Electrons passed to iron-sulfur acceptor molecule, Fd
(ferredoxin), then to FAD (flavin adenine dinucleotide).
• NADP reduced to NADPH.
• Electrons removed from P700 replaced by electrons from
photosystem II.
 Photosynthesis
A Closer Look: Light-Dependent Reactions
 Chemiosmosis
• Net accumulation of protons in
thylakoid lumen occurs from
splitting of water molecules
and electron transport.
• Proton gradient gives special
proteins, ATPase, in thylakoid
membrane potential to move
protons form lumen to stroma.
• Movement of protons across
membrane = source of energy
for synthesis of ATP
 Photosynthesis
A Closer Look: Light-Independent Reactions
 Calvin cycle
• Six molecules of CO2 combine with six molecules of
RuBP (ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate) with aid of rubisco.
• Eventually results in twelve 3-carbon molecules of 3PGA
(3-phosphoglyceric acid).
• NADPH and ATP supply energy and electrons that
reduce 3PGA to GA3P (glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate).
• Ten of the twelve GA3P molecules are restructured, using
6 ATP, into six 5-carbon RuBP molecules.
• Net gain of 2 GA3P, which can be converted to
carbohydrates or used to make lipids and amino acids
The Calvin Cycle
 Photosynthesis
A Closer Look: Light-Independent Reactions
 Photorespiration - Competes with carbon-fixing
role of photosynthesis
• Rubisco fixes oxygen instead of carbon dioxide.
• Allows C3 plants to survive under hot dry conditions
– Helps dissipate ATP and accumulated electrons,
preventing photooxidative damage
• When stomata closed, oxygen accumulates and
photorespiration more likely.
• Products are 2-carbon phosphoglycolic acid, which
are processed in perioxisomes
– Forms CO2, and PGA that can reenter Calvin cycle.
– No ATP formed.
 Photosynthesis
A Closer Look: Light-Independent Reactions
 4-Carbon pathway - Produces 4-carbon
compound instead of 3-carbon PGA during initial
steps of light-independent reactions
• C4 plants - Tropical grasses and plants of arid regions
• Plants have Kranz anatomy.
– Mesophyll cells with smaller chloroplasts with well-
developed grana
– Bundle sheath
cells with large
chloroplasts
with numerous
starch grains
 Photosynthesis
A Closer Look: Light-Independent Reactions
 4-Carbon pathway
• CO2 converted to organic acids in mesophyll cells.
– PEP (phosphoenolpyruvate) and CO2 combine, with aid of
PEP carboxylase.
– Form 4-carbon,
oxaloacetic acid, instead
of PGA
– PEP carboxylase converts
CO2 to carbohydrate at
lower CO2 concentrations
than does rubisco.
o Not sensitive to O2, no
photorespiration
 Photosynthesis
A Closer Look: Light-Independent Reactions
 4-Carbon pathway
• CO2 is transported as organic acids to bundle
sheath cells, is released and enters Calvin cycle.
– CO2 concentration high in
bundle sheath, thus
photorespiration minimized.
– C4 plants photosynthesize
at higher temperatures than
C3 plants.
– At low temperatures, C3
more efficient .
o Costs 2 ATP for C4
photosynthesis.
 Photosynthesis
A Closer Look: Light-Independent Reactions
 CAM photosynthesis - Similar to C4 photosynthesis
in that 4-carbon compounds produced during light-
independent reactions, however:
• Organic acids accumulate
at night (stomata open).
• Converted back to CO2
during day for use in
Calvin cycle (stomata
closed)
– Allows plants to function
well under limited water
supply, as well as high
light intensity.
 Other Significant Processes that Occur in
Chloroplast
 Reduction of sulfate to sulfide
• Sulfides used to make amino-acids

 Nitrates converted to ammonia

• Ammonia used to make amino-acids, for eg-
glutamine which is stored in roots and
specialized stems
 Respiration
 Respiration is release of energy from
glucose molecules that are broken down to
individual carbon dioxide molecules.
• Initiated in cytoplasm and completed in
mitochondria
• Aerobic respiration cannot be completed without
oxygen.

C6H12O6 + 6O2 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy

 Respiration
 Anaerobic respiration and fermentation -
carried on in absence of O2
• Release less energy than that released during
aerobic respiration
• Fermentation equations:
– C6H12O6 2C2H5OH + 2CO2 + ATP
– C6H12O6 2C3H6O3 + ATP
 Respiration
Major Steps of Respiration
 Glycolysis - First phase
• In cytoplasm
• No O2 required.
• Glucose converted to GA3P (glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate).
• 2 ATP molecules gained.

 Citric acid (Krebs) cycle - Second stage

• In fluid matrix of cristae in mitochondria
• High energy electrons and hydrogen removed as cycle
proceeds.
• NADH, FADH2 , and small amount of ATP produced.
• CO2 produced as by-product.
 Respiration
Major Steps of Respiration
 Electron transport - Third stage
• In inner membrane of mitochondria
• NADH and FADH2 donate electrons to electron
transport system.
• Produces ATP, CO2 and water
 Respiration
A Closer Look
 Glycolysis
• Steps:
– Phosphorylation - Glucose becomes fructose carrying two
phosphates.
– Sugar cleavage - Fructose split into two 3-carbon
fragments: GA3P (glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate).
– Pyruvic acid formation - Hydrogen, energy and water
removed, leaving pyruvic acid.
• Prior to entering citric acid cycle, pyruvic acid loses CO2
and is converted to acetyl CoA.
• If O2 not available, anaerobic respiration or fermentation
occurs.
– Hydrogen released during glycolysis transferred back to
pyruvic acid, creating ethyl alcohol or lactic acid.
 Respiration
A Closer Look
 Citric acid (Krebs) cycle
• Acetyl CoA first combined with oxaloacetic acid,
producing citric acid.
• Each cycle uses 2 acetyl CoA, releases 3 CO2 and
regenerates oxaloacetic acid.
O.A. + acetyl CoA + ADP+P+3NAD + FAD 
O.A. + CoA+ATP+3NADH+H+ + FADH2+2CO2
• High energy electrons and hydrogen removed, producing
NADH, FADH2 and ATP.
 Respiration
A Closer Look
 Electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation
• Energy from NADH and FADH2 released as hydrogen
and electrons are passed along electron transport
system.
• Protons build up outside mitochondrial matrix,
establishing electrochemical gradient.
• Chemiosmosis couples transport of protons into matrix
with oxidative phosphorylation: formation of ATP.
• O2 acts as ultimate electron acceptor, producing water
as it combines with hydrogen.
• Produces a net gain of 36 ATP and 6 molecules of
CO2 and water
Respiration
 Factors Affecting the Rate of Respiration
 Temperature
• Increase from 20o C to 30o C, respiration rates
double.

 Water
• Medium in which enzymatic reactions take place
• Low water content - Respiration rate reduced.

 Oxygen
• Reduction in oxygen - Respiration and growth
rates decline.
 Additional Metabolic Pathways
 Other processes contribute to growth
development, reproduction and survival.
• Compounds produced include: sugar phosphates
nucleotides, nucleic acids, amino acids, proteins,
chlorophylls, cytochromes, carotenoids, fatty acids,
oils, and waxes.
 Secondary metabolism - Metabolic processes not
required for normal growth and development
• Enable plants to survive and persist under special
conditions
– Colors, aromas, poisons - Give competitive edge
o Codeine, Nicotine, Lignin, Salicin, Camphor, Menthol,
Rubber
 Assimilation and Digestion
 Assimilation - Conversion of organic matter
produced in photosynthesis to build
protoplasm and cell walls
• Sugars transformed into lipids, proteins, or other
carbohydrates, such as sucrose, starch and
cellulose.

 Digestion - Conversion of starch and other

insoluble carbohydrates to soluble forms
• Nearly always hydrolysis process
 Review
 Introduction

 Enzymes and Energy Transfer

 Photosynthesis

 Respiration

 Additional Metabolic Pathways

 Assimilation and Digestion