SEAWEED PHOTOSYNTESIS

RAYFAN AKBAR FAJARINOV VIII

DEFINITION

Photosynthesis is the process by which light energy is

converted to chemical energy whereby carbon dioxide and
water are converted into organic molecules. The process
occurs in almost all algae, and in fact much of what is
known about photosynthesis was first discovered by
studying the green alga Chlorella.
PROCESS

• Photosynthesis comprises both light reactions and dark reactions (or Calvin cycle). During the dark reactions, carbon
dioxide is bound to ribulose bisphosphate, a 5-carbon sugar with two attached phosphate groups, by the enzyme
ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase. This is the initial step of a complex process leading to the formation of sugars.
During the light reactions, light energy is converted into the chemical energy needed for the dark reactions. The light
reactions of many algae differ from those of land plants because some of them use different pigments to harvest
light. Chlorophylls absorb primarily blue and red light, whereas carotenoids absorb primarily blue and green light, and
phycobiliproteins absorb primarily blue or red light. Since the amount of light absorbed depends upon
the pigment composition and concentration found in the alga, some algae absorb more light at a given wavelength,
and therefore, potentially, those algae can convert more light energy of that wavelength to chemical energy via
photosynthesis. All algae use chlorophyll a to collect photosynthetically active light. Green algae and euglenophytes
also use chlorophyll b. In addition to chlorophyll a, the remaining algae also use various combinations of other
chlorophylls, chlorophyllides, carotenoids, and phycobiliproteins to collect additional light from wavelengths of the
spectrum not absorbed by chlorophyll a or b. The chromophyte algae, dinoflagellates, cryptomonads (class
Cryptophyceae), and the class Micromonadophyceae, for example, also use chlorophyllides. (Chlorophyllides, often
incorrectly called chlorophylls, differ from true chlorophylls in that they lack the long, fat-soluble phytol tail that is
characteristic of chlorophylls.) Some green algae use carotenoids for harvesting photosynthetically active light, but
the Dinophyceae and chromophyte algae almost always use carotenoids. Phycobiliproteins, which appear either blue
(phycocyanins) or red (phycoerythrins), are found in red algae and cryptomonads.
•
THE EFFECT OF WATER ON LIGHT ABSORPTION

• Red wavelengths are absorbed in the first few metres of water. Blue
wavelengths are more readily absorbed if the water contains
average or abundant amounts of organic material. Thus, green
wavelengths are often the most common light in deep water.
• Chlorophylls absorb red and blue wavelengths much more strongly
than they absorb green wavelengths, which is why chlorophyll-
bearing plants appear green. The carotenoids and phycobiliproteins,
on the other hand, strongly absorb green wavelengths. Algae with
large amounts of carotenoid appear yellow to brown, those with large
amounts of phycocyanin appear blue, and those with large amounts
of phycoerythrin appear red.
• At one time it was believed that algae with specialized green-
absorbing accessory pigments outcompeted green algae in deeper
water. Some green algae, however, grow as well as other algae in
deep water, and the deepest attached algae include green algae.
The explanation of this paradox is that the cell structure of the
deepwater green algae is designed to capture virtually all light, green
or otherwise. Thus, while green-absorbing pigments are
advantageous in deeper waters, evolutionary changes in cell
structure can evidently compensate for the absence of these
pigments.
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