BIOLOGY 1111

ENERGY ACQUIRING PATHWAYS

CHAPTER 7

Northland Community &Technical College
Instructor Terry Wiseth
 

ENERGY ACQUIRING PATHWAYS

modes of nutrition are based on the sources of carbon for synthesizing glucose

1) Heterotrophs

2) Autotrophs

HETEROTROPHS

acquire carbon and energy from organic compounds

eat autotrophs, eat each other, and eat organic wastes

ex:  animals, fungi, parasites

AUTOTROPHS

acquire carbon from carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

A)  photoautotrophs

B)  chemoautotrophs

PHOTOAUTOTROPHS

utilize sunlight as an energy source for synthesizing glucose

ex:  green plants

CHEMOAUTOTROPHS

able to extract energy from inorganic sources

ex:  bacteria----sulfur

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

An energy acquiring pathway performed by photoautotrophs

1) nature of light

2) light trapping pigments

3) chloroplast

4) light reactions

5) dark reactions

6) alternative pathways

7) carbon cycle

NATURE OF LIGHT

White light consists of all the visible wavelengths of light

A prism can be used to separate the different wavelengths

Visible light is one small part of the electromagnetic spectrum

The longer the wavelength is the more red the color

Infrared

Longer wavelengths than visible red

The shorter the wavelength is the more violet the color

Ultraviolet

Shorter wavelengths than visible violet

Energy is inversely proportional to the wavelength

Longer wavelengths have less energy than shorter wavelengths

Ultraviolet has more energy than infrared

Albert Einstein developed a particle model of light in 1905

Light is composed of particles called photons whose energy can displace protons

PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT

Light energy can force electrons from a compound creating an electrical current

Zinc exposed to UV light becomes positively charged by the displacement of electrons

LIGHT TRAPPING PIGMENTS

A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

Color of a pigment is determined by the wavelengths of light reflected

Types of pigments capable of trapping light energy (photons)

1) Chlorophyll

2) Carotenoids and Xanthophylls

3) Anthocyanins

4) Phycobilins

1)  Chlorophyll - pigment absorbs wavelengths of light other than green light

Chlorophyll is a complex molecule

Chlorophyll a

absorbs its energy from the Violet and Red wavelengths

Chlorophyll b

absorbs its energy from the green wavelength

Origins of photosynthetic organisms in the sea may account for the presence of both chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b

Shorter wavelengths are not able to penetrate much below 5 m deep in the water

Ability to absorb some energy from the longer more penetrating wavelengths may  have inferred an advantage

Energy absorbed by chlorophyll pigments trigger a chemical reaction

The chemical reaction is associated with proteins embedded in the chloroplasts inner membranes

2)  Carotenoids and Xanthophylls

plant pigments which reflect red, orange and yellow

Absorb light in the green wavelength

3)  Anthocyanins

Reflect red and purple wavelengths

Commonly seen in the color of petals and the skin of fruits

In the fall of the year Anthocyanins are the by product of biochemical events as chlorophyll is degraded in order to conserve magnesium (only a part of the pigment chlorophyll)

Sugars in the leaf react with proteins to produce Anthocyanins

Exact color (orange, red, purple) is dependent on the

1) pH of the sap in the leaves

2) Weather

Sunlight

Temperature

Moisture conditions

Cool weather destroys chlorophyll and encourages the formation of Anthocyanins

Freezing temperatures kill the leaves before good color develops

Sunny weather speeds the destruction of the chlorophyll

Dry weather encourages high sugar concentrations and thus high production of  Anthocyanins

4)  Phycobilins

Plant pigments which reflect red and blue

Found In blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) and red algae

CHLOROPLAST

The organ of function in photosynthesis

two stages of photosynthesis occur at different sites inside the chloroplast

1)  Thylakoid compartment (inside the grana)

2)  Stroma

Thylakoids are stacked like pancakes in stacks known as grana

Stroma is the areas between the grana

PHOTOSYNTHETIC FORMULA

12H2O + 6CO2 

C6H12O6 + 6O2 + 6H2O  

glucose end-product combines at once to form complex carbohydrates

process occurs inside the chloroplast

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

A)    Light dependent reaction (Light)

B)    Light independent reaction (Dark)

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

1)  Thylakoid compartment (inside the grana)

1st stage of photosynthesis

light dependent  reactions

ATP produced

2)  Stroma

2nd stage of photosynthesis

light independent reactions

sugars assembled

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

A)  Light dependent reaction

energy from light absorbed

energy is converted to ATP

water molecules are split

Oxygen molecules diffuse out

coenzymes NADP+ picks up liberated hydrogen and electrons becoming NADPH

H+ ions diffuse out of the grana generating ATP by way of the ATP synthase proteins

This reaction can be divided into three sub reactions

Oxygen production from photolysis of the water molecule

PHOTOSYNTHESIS  

1) Light strikes the P II complex energizing the chlorophyll electrons

2) The energized electrons leave chlorophyll and are replaced by water which is split after losing an electron

3) Free oxygen combines and is released from the chloroplast

4) Free electrons in the cytochrome complex attract H+ ions into the thylakoid lumen

5) A surplus of free H+ ions create a proton gradient inside the thylakoid lumen

6) Electrons in PS I are boosted to a higher energy level

7) Free electrons from the cytochrome replace the energized electrons in the PS I complex

8) The boosted electron from PS I is given up to NADP+ and H+ to form NADPH

9) ADP molecules ready to pick up energy from the synthetase molecule as H+ ions flow

10) ATP is formed as the H+ ions flow across the ATP synthetase from the pressure created by the H+ proton gradient

11) Water molecules form from the free H+ ions and free oxygen in the stroma

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

B)  Light independent reaction

Takes place in the stroma

“Dark Reaction”

Process is able to occur in the absence of light

NADPH and ATP donate energy to the incorporation of carbon into organic molecules

CO2 acts as a carbon and oxygen source for synthesis of the organic molecule

water provides hydrogen as delivered by NADPH

LIGHT INDEPENDENT REACTIONS

These reactions have two purposes

1)  Capturing carbon

Carbon fixation

2)  Building glucose

Calvin-Benson cycle

CARBON FIXATION

Capturing (fixing) carbon

Carbon dioxide diffuses into the stroma from the atmosphere

Carbon attaches to RuBP (Ribulose Biphosphate)

ALTERNATE METHODS OF CARBON FIXING

carbon fixing strategy is dependent on environmental conditions

though carbon dioxide is abundant in the air, it may not be abundant inside the leaves of a plant

Carbon enters the leaf through openings ca lled stomata

Stomata are openings created by specialized cell on the lower epidermis of the leaf

desert plants and conifers have leaves with thick surface layers that help to restrict water loss

ex:  cacti, conifer trees

Water stressed plants do not open their stomata during the day, in order to prevent excessive water loss

only open stomata at night, thus carbon dioxide must be fixed at night

CO2  is stored in the central vacuole to be used the following day when the stomata are closed

CAM plants (Crassulacean Acid Metabolism)

C3 PLANTS

C3 plants have only one cell type able to fix carbon

Fix carbon in Ribulose Biphosphate

   (RuBP) which is converted into Phosphoglycerate (PGA)

a 3 carbon molecule

C4 PLANTS

C4 plants have two types of cells which are able to fix carbon

more efficient in hot, dry weather

Fix carbon in Phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) which is converted into oxaloacetic acid (OAA)

a 4 carbon molecule

C4 vs C3 PLANTS

Kentucky Bluegrass (C3) does well during spring cool weather only to be overwhelmed during the hot summer by Crabgrass (C4)

CALVIN-BENSON CYCLE

Building glucose

A)  carbon attaches to RuBP producing an unstable intermediate  

Ribulose Biphosphate (RuBP) is a 5 carbon sugar with 2 phosphates attached 

B) this 6 carbon molecule splits into 2 PGA molecules (3 carbon) by the enzyme RuBisCO

C) ATP donates a phosphate

D) NADPH donates hydrogen and electrons forming PGAL

most PGAL is recycled to RuBP to capture more CO2

E)  two PGAL molecules combine to form a 6 carbon sugar phosphate

used to form sucrose, starch or cellulose

CARBON CYCLE

0.03% of the atmospheric air is CO2

Carbon is cycled between organic compounds produced by photosynthesis and atmospheric CO2

A small amount of carbon is trapped in organic deposits

coal, oil, natural gas

300 million years ago

Now being  returned to atmosphere as fossil fuel is burned

CHEMOAUTOTROPHS

some bacteria are able to obtain energy by pulling hydrogen and electrons from:

1)  ammonia (NH4)

ex:  nitrogen fixation

2)  iron compounds

ex:  rust

3)  sulfur compounds

ex:  thermal vents

END

CHAPTER 7

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