LIGHT REACTIONS

PREPARED BY: MRS. DIANE KATRINA N. PANTISMA

Objectives:
The learners shall be able to:
o describe the major features and chemical events in photosynthesis (STEM_Bio11/12-IIa-
j-1)
o explain the importance of chlorophyll and other pigments (STEM_BIO11/12 – IIa-j-3)
o describe the patterns of electron flow through light reaction events (STEM_BIO11/12–IIa-
j-4)
At the end of the lesson, the learners shall be able to:
o Functionally define photosynthesis
o Identify the reactants and products of photosynthesis
o Differentiate the major chemical events of photosynthesis
Review

What is oxidation-reduction (redox) reactions?

The redox reactions involve electrons passing from
one molecule to another
Redox reactions

❑Oxidation (splitting)-is the loss of

electrons while reduction is the gain of
electrons.
What are the tasks of ATP?
1. Chemical work: ATP is used for building macromolecules
2. Transport work: ATP is used for transporting ions
membranes
3. Mechanical work: ATP is used for mechanical processes
such as muscle contraction, cilia movement.
1. How do plants harness light energy to manufacture food?
Photosynthesis

2. How do living organisms harness energy from food?

Cellular respiration
Review
Cellular respiration
PLANTS
▪ are autotrophs (“self-feeders in Greek”)
▪Autotrophs- they make their own food and thus sustain themselves
without eating other organisms or even organic molecules
▪The chloroplasts of plant cells capture light energy that has travelled
150 million kilometres from the sun and convert it to chemical
energy that is stored in glucose and other organic molecules made
from carbon dioxide and water.
PLANTS
▪ are referred to as the producers of the biosphere
▪Actually, plants are not only the producers certain bacteria,
archaea, and protists also make food molecules from
inorganic materials
▪All organisms that use light energy to make food molecules
are called photosynthetic autotrophs
Plants, algae, and photosynthetic bacteria all use light
energy to drive the synthesis of organic molecules from
carbon dioxide and water

In plants and algae, this process goes on in the cellular

organelles called chloroplasts
Photosynthesis
▪ All
green parts of a plant have chloroplasts and can carryout
photosynthesis.
▪In most plants, the leaves have the most chloroplasts and are the
major sites of the process.
▪The green color in the plants is from chlorophyll pigments in the
chloroplasts.
▪Chlorophyll absorbs the light energy that the chloroplast puts to
work in making food molecules
 Chloroplasts
▪Chloroplasts are concentrated
in the cells of the mesophyll
▪Mesophyll- the green tissue in
the interior of the leaf
▪ Carbon dioxide enters the leaf
and the oxygen exits by way of
tiny pores called stomata
 Chloroplasts
▪Like the mitochondrion, the
chloroplast has an outer
membrane and an inner
membrane with an
intermembrane space between
them
▪The chloroplasts’s inner
membrane is filled with stroma
 Chloroplasts
▪Stroma- a thick fluid
- is where sugars are
made from carbon dioxide and
water
▪Thylakoid- is suspended in the
stroma
- a system of
disklike membranous sacks
 Chloroplasts
▪Grana- the thylakoids are
concentrated in stacks
▪Built into the thylakoid
membranes are the chlorophyll
molecules that capture light
energy
▪The thylakoid membranes also
house much of the machinery
that converts light energy to
chemical energy
 Plants Produce O2 gas by splitting water
▪The leaves of the plants that live
in the lakes and ponds are often
covered with bubbles.
▪The bubbles are oxygen gas O2
produced during photosynthesis
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
▪Photosynthesis- is a redox (oxidation-
reduction) process, as is cellular
respiration
▪When water molecules are split apart,
yielding O2, they are oxidized; that is
they lose electrons, along with
hydrogen ions (H+)
▪Meanwhile, CO2 is reduced to sugar as
electrons and H+ ions are added to it.
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
▪As water is oxidized and CO2 is reduced
during photosynthesis, electrons gain
energy being boosted up an energy hill
▪The light energy captured by chlorophyll
molecules in the chloroplast provides the
boost for the electrons
▪Photosynthesis convert the light energy to
chemical energy and stores it in sugar
molecules
CELLULAR RESPIRATION
▪Cellular respiration harvests
energy stored in a glucose
molecule by oxidizing the
sugar and reducing O2 to
H2O.
Visible Radiation drives the light
reactions
▪Sunlight is a type of energy called
radiation or electromagnetic energy
▪Electromagnetic energy travels in
space as rhythmic waves analogous to
those made by a pebble dropped in a
puddle of water.
▪The distance between the crests of
two adjacent waves is called
wavelength
Visible Radiation drives the light
reactions
▪It shows the full range of
electromagnetic spectrum
▪Visible light forms only a small
fraction of the spectrum.
▪It consists of different
wavelengths measured in
nanometers, or nm that our
eyes see as different colors
Visible Radiation drives the light
reactions
▪As sunlight shines on a plant leaf the
light some wavelengths is absorbed
and put to photosynthesis, while the
light of other wavelengths is reflected
back from the leaf or transmitted
through it.
▪The light reactions of photosynthesis
use only certain components
(wavelengths or colors) of visible
light.
The interaction of light with chloroplast
▪ Light-absorbing molecules called
pigments in the membranes of a
granum absorb mainly blue violet and
red orange wavelengths
▪We do not see these absorbed
wavelengths. What we see when we
look at a leaf are the green
wavelengths that the pigments
transmit and reflect
The interaction of light with chloroplast
▪ Different pigments absorb light of
different wavelengths and chloroplasts
contain several kinds of pigments.
▪Chlorophyll a absorbs mainly blue
violet and red orange light.
▪Chlorophyll a participates directly in
the light reactions. It looks grass-green
because it reflects mainly green light.
The interaction of light with chloroplast
▪A very similar molecule, chlorophyll b,
absorbs mainly blue and orange light
and reflects (appears) yellow-green
▪Chlorophyll b does not participate
directly in the light reactions, but it
broadens the range of light that a plant
can use by conveying absorbed energy
to chlorophyll a, which then puts the
energy to work in the light reactions.
The interaction of light with chloroplast
▪Chloroplasts also contain a family of
yellow-orange pigments called
carotenoids, which absorb mainly
blue-green light.
▪Some may pass energy to chlorophyll
a, as chlorophyll b does.
▪Other carotenoids have a protective
function: They absorb and dissipate
excessive light energy that would
otherwise damage chlorophyll. (Similar
carotenoids may help protect our eyes
from very bright light)
What color of light is least effective in driving
photosynthesis?
Green
 Photosystems capture solar power
▪The theory of light as waves explains most of light’s properties
relative to photosynthesis.
▪However, light also behaves as discrete packets of energy called
photons
▪A photon is a fixed quantity of light energy, and the shorter the
wavelength , the greater the energy
▪For example, a photon of violet light packs nearly twice as much
energy as a photon of red light.
 Photosystems capture solar power
▪. When a pigment molecule absorbs a photon, one of the pigment’s electrons
gains energy and we say that the electron has been raised from a ground state
to an excited state.
▪The excited state is very unstable; generally, the electron loses the excess
energy and falls back to its ground state almost immediately.
▪Several things may happen to the energy released in the process. For instance,
the excess energy may be released as heat.
▪Some pigments emit light as well as heat after absorbing photons. In this case,
the excited electron gives off a photon, in addition to heat as it reverts to the
ground state
Fluorescence of isolated chlorophyll in
solution
▪ When illuminated, the
chlorophyll emits heat and
photons of light that produce a
reddish after glow as electrons
fall from excited state to the
ground state. This afterglow is
called fluorescence.
Fluorescence of isolated chlorophyll in
solution
▪In contrast to pure chlorophyll in
solution, illuminated chlorophyll
in an intact chloroplast passes its
excited electron to a neighboring
molecule.
Excitation of chlorophyll in a chloroplast
▪The neighboring molecule, called
the primary electron acceptor, is
reduced as chlorophyll is
oxidized.
▪The solar-powered electron
transfer is the first step in the
light reactions and the first of
many redox reactions in
photosynthesis.
Excitation of chlorophyll in a chloroplast
▪The box labelled “other
compounds” represents the
molecular machinery that uses
the redox reactions to make ATP
and NADPH
Excitation of chlorophyll in a chloroplast
▪Chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b,
and the carotenoid pigments are
clustered in the thylakoid
membrane of each chloroplast in
assemblies of 200-300 pigments
molecules
Components of a photosystem
▪Evidence suggests that only one of
the chlorophyll a molecules in each
assembly actually donates excited
electrons to the primary electron
acceptor, thus triggering the light
reactions.
▪This chlorophyll a molecule and the
primary electron acceptor make up
what is called the reaction center of
the pigment assembly.
Components of a photosystem
▪The reaction center and the other
pigment molecules function
collectively as a light-gathering
antenna that absorbs photons and
passes the energy from to
molecule until it reaches the
reaction center and the primary
electron acceptor is called a
photosystem
▪This is the light-harvesting unit of
the chloroplast’s thylakoid
membrane.
Components of a photosystem
▪Two types of photosystems have been identified. They are referred
to as photosystem I and photosystem II, in order of their discovery.
▪In photosystem I, the chlorophyll a molecule of the reaction center
is called P700 because the light it absorbs best is red light with a
wavelength of 700nm.
▪The reaction-center chlorophyll of photosystem II is called P680
because the wavelength of light it absorbs best is 680 nm ( a more
orange shade of red).
Overview
Light reactions- use sunlight to initiate electron
transfer, thereby reducing NADP+ to NADPH and
splitting water to give off oxygen as by product.
❑ form ATP through phosphorylation
❑ takes place in the thylakoids of the chloroplast
Overview
Calvin cycle- sometimes referred to as ‘dark reactions’ because
it doesn’t require light energy for its processes to take place
❑ incorporates CO2 into organic molecules through carbon
fixation
❑uses NADPH and ATP to produce carbohydrate from the fixed
carbon
❑ takes place in the stroma of chloroplast
❑ returns ADP, inorganic phosphate, and NADP+ to the light
reactions
Key events in the light reactions of
photosynthesis are:

1. the absorption of light energy;

2. the excitation of electrons by light energy
3. the formation of ATP and NADPH using energy
made available by the cascade of energized
electrons down the electron transport chains.
Photon and electron flow in the light
reactions of photosynthesis
▪Both photosystems absorb light
energy (yellow arrows) and excited
electron pass from the reaction-
center chlorophylls (P680 and
P700)to the primary electron
acceptors
▪ In turn, each primary acceptor is
oxidized as it donates high energy
electrons to the first electron
carrier of an electron transport
chain
Photon and electron flow in the light
reactions of photosynthesis
▪Additional redox reactions then
shuttle the electrons from one
electron-carrier molecule to the
next down as energy cascade.
▪ The electrons lose energy, some
of which ends up temporarily
stored in either ATP or NADPH
molecules
Photon and electron flow in the light
reactions of photosynthesis
▪On the far right in the diagram,
NADPH being formed when
NADP+ is reduced. NADP+ gains
two high-energy electrons (the
reduction) and an H+
▪Every molecule of NADPH
formed in the light reactions
requires two electrons from
photosystem I
Where do all the electrons come from
that keep the light reactions running?
 Where do all the electrons come from that keep the light
reactions running?

▪For photosystem I, the electrons from

the bottom of the cascade in the
center the diagram pass in its P700
chlorophyll

▪For photosystem II, P680 regains its

electrons from a water molecule. In
this process, H2O splits apart, and two
of its electrons replace those missing
from photosystem II
▪For photosystem II, left behind are two
hydrogen ions (H+) that remain in the
chloroplast and an oxygen atom (1/2
O2)
▪The oxygen atoms immediately
combines with a second oxygen atom
from another water molecule to form
a molecule of O2 , which diffuses out of
the plant cell and leaves the leaf
through a stoma.
Products of the light reactions
▪NADPH, ATP and O2 are the products of the light
reactions
▪The high-energy molecule NADPH and the waste
product O2 both result directly from redox reactions.
▪The synthesis of ATP is different; it is driven by
chemiosmosis- the same mechanism that generates
ATP in cellular respiration
Light reactions
There is a flow of electrons from ____________
molecules to ______________, which is
reduced to__________, the source of electrons
for sugar synthesis in the _________________
cycle.
Answer
Water, NADP+, NADPH, Calvin
Chemiosmosis powers ATP synthesis in
the light reactions
▪It shows the two photosystems
and electron transport chains, all
located within the thylakoid
membrane of a chloroplast
▪ The photosystems are arranged
in such a way that energy
released during electron flow
drives the transport of hydrogen
ions (H+) across the thylakoid
membrane
Chemiosmosis powers ATP synthesis in
the light reactions
▪The arrangement is very much like the
model for the electron transport chain
of cellular respiration in the
mitochondrion
▪In both cases, excited electrons pass
along a series of electron carriers
within a membrane as redox reaction
occurs. The electrons gives up energy
on the way, and some of the energy is
used to make ATP by chemiosmosis
Chemiosmosis powers ATP synthesis in
the light reactions
▪Although photosynthesis is a food-
making process and cellular respiration
is an energy-harvesting one, electron
transport in the chloroplast drives
chemiosmosis the same way it does in
the mitochondrion.
▪Specifically, some of the actively
transport H+ from one side of a
membrane to the other.
Chemiosmosis powers ATP synthesis in
the light reactions
▪In the chloroplast, the carriers move
H+ across the thylakoid membrane
from the stroma into the thylakoid
compartment.
▪This generates a concentration
gradient of H+ across the membrane. (
the higher H+concentration is indicated
by the darker shade of gray in the
diagram. As in the mitochondrion,
energy stored in this concentration
gradient is used to drive ATP synthesis.
Chemiosmosis powers ATP synthesis in
the light reactions
▪The flask-shaped structure represents
the protein complex ATP synthase.
▪ATP synthase provides a port through
which H+ back across, and energy is
released in the process.
▪ATP synthase uses some of this
energy to phosphorylate ADP,making
ATP .
Chemiosmosis powers ATP synthesis in
the light reactions
▪In photosynthesis, the
chemiosmosis production of
ATP is called
photophosphorylation
because the initial energy
input is light energy.
Chemiosmosis powers ATP synthesis in
the light reactions
▪Notice that the final
electron acceptor is NADP+,
not O2 as in cellular
respiration
▪Rather than being
consumed, O2 is produced
when water is split providing
replacement electrons for
photosystem II.
PHOTOSYSTEM I & II
1. A photon of light strikes one of
the pigment molecules in a light
harvesting complex of PSII
(Photosystem II), boosting one of
its electrons to a higher energy
level. As this electron falls back
into its ground state, an electron in
a nearby pigment molecule is
simultaneously raised to an excited
state.
1. The process continues, with the
energy being relayed to other
pigment molecules until it reaches
P680 pair of chlorophyll a
molecules in the PS II
(Photosystem II) reaction-center
complex. It excites an electron in
this pair of chlorophyll to a higher
energy state.
2. This electron is transferred
from the excited P680 to the
primary electron acceptor.
We can refer to the resulting
form of P680, missing an
electron, as P680+.
3. An enzyme catalyzes the
splitting of a water molecule into
two electrons, two hydrogen ions
(H+), and an oxygen atom. The
electrons are supplied one by one
to the P680+ pair, each electron
replacing one transferred to the
primary electron acceptor. (P680+
is the strongest biological oxidizing
agent known; its electron “hole”
must be filled.
3. This greatly facilitates the
transfer of electrons from the split
water molecule.) The H+ are
released into the thylakoid space.
The oxygen atom immediately
combines with an oxygen atom
generated by the splitting of
another water molecule, forming
O2.
 4. Each photoexcited electron
passes from the primary elec-
tron acceptor of PS II to PS I via
an electron transport chain, the
components of which are
similar to those of the electron
transport chain that functions in
cellular respiration.
 4. The electron transport chain
between PS II and PS I is made
up of the electron carrier
plastoquinone (Pq), a cy-
tochrome complex, and a
protein called plastocyanin (Pc).
5. The exergonic “fall” of
electrons to a lower energy
level provides energy for the
synthesis of ATP. As electrons
pass through the cytochrome
complex, H+ are pumped into
the thylakoid space,
contributing to the proton
gradient that is subsequently
used in chemiosmosis.
6. Meanwhile, light energy has
been transferred via light-
harvesting complex pigments to
the PS I reaction-center complex,
exciting an electron of the P700
pair of chlorophyll a molecules
located there.
6. The photoexcited electron is
then transferred to PS I’s primary
electron acceptor, creating an
electron “hole” in the P700—
which we now can call P700+. In
other words, P700+ can now act as
an electron acceptor, accepting an
electron that reaches the bottom
of the electron transport chain
from PS II.
7. Photoexcited electrons are
passed in a series of redox re-
actions from the primary
electron acceptor of PS I
down a second electron
transport chain through the
protein ferredoxin (Fd). (This
chain does not create a
proton gradient and thus
does not produce ATP.)
8. The enzyme NADP+
reductase catalyzes the
transfer of electrons from Fd
to NADP+. Two electrons are
required for its reduction to
NADPH.
8. This molecule is at a higher
energy level than water, so its
electrons are more readily
available for the reactions of
the Calvin cycle. This pro-
cess also removes an H+ from
the stroma.
 Chemiosmosis
❑ The other ingredient needed by
Calvin cycle is ATP.
❑ H+ ions build inside the
thylakoid interior and make a
concentration gradient.
❑ Protons “want” to diffuse back
down the gradient into the
stroma, and their only route of
passage is through the enzyme
ATP synthase
 Chemiosmosis
❑ ATP synthase harnesses the
flow of protons to make ATP
from ADP and phosphate (Pi)
❑ This process of making ATP
using energy stored in a chemical
gradient is called
chemiosomosis.
Cyclic Electron Flow
▪ Aside from the usual route of electron flow as described in the
events of the light reactions (non-cyclic or linear electron flow)
▪Photo-excited electrons may take a short-circuited route which
utilizes Photosystem I but not Photosystem II
▪ The ferredoxin goes back to the cycle and passes the electron to
the cytochrome complex to the Pc until it reaches P700 chlorophyll
instead of transferring the electron to NADP + reductase.
▪Due to this event, no NADPH is produced but ATP is still
synthesized.
Why does the cyclic electron flow exist?
▪ occurs when the CO2 concentration is less in the
atmosphere.
▪ predominantly occurs in isolated chloroplasts and bacterial
photosynthesis.
▪ At least in some cases, chloroplasts switch from linear to
cyclic electron flow when the ratio of NADPH to NADP+ is
too high (when too little NADP+ is available to accept
electrons)
Why does the cyclic electron flow exist?
▪In addition, cyclic electron flow may be common in
photosynthetic cell types with especially high ATP needs.
▪ Cyclic electron flow, may play a photoprotective role,
preventing excess light from damaging photosystem
proteins and promoting repair of light-induced damage.