CHAPTER 5

Synthesis and Respiration (Energy Transformation

Prepared by: Marina L. Dato

A. Photosynthesis
-is the process by which plants, some bacteria, and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar, which cellular respiration converts into ATP (Adenosine triphosphate), the "fuel" used by all living things.

 We can write the overall reaction of this process as: 6H2O + 6CO2 ----------> C6H12O6+ 6O2 Most of us don't speak chemicalese, so the above chemical equation translates as: six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

Leaves and Leaf Structure

Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have leaves). A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells. The raw materials of photosynthesis which enter the cells of the leaf are: - water -carbon dioxide

 The products of photosynthesis which leave the leaf are: -sugar -oxygen Cross section of a leaf, showing the anatomical features important to the study of photosynthesis: stoma, guard cell, mesophyll cells, and vein. Xylem Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells Stomata- Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized structures to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf.

 Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle), but it can enter the leaf through an opening (the stoma; plural = stomata; Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells. Likewise, oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata. Unfortunately for the plant, while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf, a great deal water is also lost.

B. Autotrophs and Heterotrops

Overview of cycle between autotrophs and heterotrophs. Photosynthesis is the main means by which plants, algae and many bacteria produce organic compounds and oxygen from carbon dioxide and water (green arrow).

Autotrophs
An autotroph,(self-feeding) or producer, is an organism that produces complex organic compounds such as: a. Carbohydrates b. fats c. Proteins -from simple inorganic molecules using energy from light (by photosynthesis) or -inorganic chemical reactions (chemosynthesis). They are the producers in a food chain, such as: *plants on land or *algae in water. They are able to make their own food and can fix carbon. Therefore, they do not use organic compounds as an energy source or a carbon source. Autotrophs can reduce carbon dioxide (add hydrogen to it) to make organic compounds. The reduction of carbon dioxide, a low-energy compound, creates a store of chemical energy. Most autotrophs use water as the reducing agent, but some can use other hydrogen compounds such as hydrogen sulfide.

 An autotroph converts physical energy from sun light (in case of green plants) into chemical energy in the form of reduced carbon. Autotrophs can be: *phototrophs or *lithotrophs (chemoautotrophs).

Phototrophs use light as an energy source lithotrophs oxidize inorganic compounds, such as: - hydrogen sulfide - elemental sulfur - ammonium - ferrous iron

 Phototrophs and lithotrophs use a portion of the ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) produced during photosynthesis or the oxidation of inorganic compounds to reduce NADP+ (Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) to NADPH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-oxidase) in order to form organic compounds

Heterotroph
is an organism that cannot fix carbon and uses organic carbon for growth.This contrasts with autotrophs, such as plants and algae, which can use energy from sunlight (photoautotrophs) or inorganic compounds (lithoautotrophs) to produce organic compounds from inorganic carbon dioxide such as: -carbohydrates -fats -proteins. These reduced carbon compounds can be used as an energy source by the autotroph and provide the energy in food consumed by heterotrophs.

Heterotrophs can be divided into two broad classes: 1. photoheterotrophs 2.chemoheterotrophs

 Photoheterotrophs, including most purple bacteria and green bacteria, produce ATP from light and use organic compounds to build structures. They consume little or none of the energy produced during photosynthesis to reduce NADP+ to NADPH for use in the Calvin cycle, as they do not need to use the Calvin cycle if carbohydrates are available in their diets. Chemoheterotrophs produce ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) by oxidizing chemical substances. There are two types of chemoheterotrophs: a. chemoorganoheterotrophs b. chemolithoheterotrophs

a. Chemoorganoheterotrophs (or simply organotrophs) -exploit reduced carbon compounds as energy sources, such as carbohydrates, fats, and proteins from plants and animals. b. Chemolithoheterotrophs (or lithotrophic heterotrophs) such as colorless sulfur bacteria (e.g., Beggiatoa and Thiobacillus) and sulfatereducing bacteria utilize inorganic substances to produce ATP, including hydrogen sulfide, elemental sulfur, thiosulfate, and molecular hydrogen. -They use organic compounds to build structures. They do not fix carbon dioxide and apparently do not have the Calvin cycle. -Chemolithoheterotrophs can be distinguished from mixotrophs (or facultative chemolithotroph), which can utilize either carbon dioxide or organic carbon as the carbon source.

 Heterotrophs, by consuming reduced carbon compounds, are able to use all the energy that they obtain from food for growth and reproduction, unlike autotrophs, which must use some of their energy for carbon fixation. Heterotrophs are unable to make their own food, however, and whether using organic or inorganic energy sources, they can die from a lack of food. This applies not only to animals and fungi but also to bacteria

The differences between autotrophs and heterotrophs in the ecosystem?

The autotrophs have the ability to manufacture their own food from the inorganic raw materials. They extract them from the outside source. They reside on the inorganic medium and require an external source of energy. They are known as producers and include the plants mainly. The heterotrophs do not have the ability to manufacture their own food from the inorganic raw materials. They extract the organic nutrients from the outside source. They reside seldom on the organic medium and do not require an external source of energy. They are known as consumers and include the animals mainly.

C. Light Reaction and dark Reaction

1. Light Reaction - In the Light Dependent Processes (Light Reactions) light strikes chlorophyll in such a way as to excite electrons to a higher energy state. In a series of reactions the energy is converted (along an electron transport process) into ATP and NADPH. - Water is split in the process, releasing oxygen as a by-product of the reaction. The ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) and NADPH are used to make C-C bonds in the Light Independent Process (Dark Reactions). - In the Light Independent Process, carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (or water for aquatic/marine organisms) is captured and modified by the addition of Hydrogen to form carbohydrates (general formula of carbohydrates is [CH2O]n). The incorporation of carbon dioxide into organic compounds is known as carbon fixation. The energy for this comes from the first phase of the photosynthetic process. - Living systems cannot directly utilize light energy, but can, through a complicated series of reactions, convert it into C-C bond energy that can be released by glycolysis and other metabolic processes.

2. Dark Reaction
- Carbon-Fixing Reactions are also known as the Dark Reactions (or Light Independent Reactions). - Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures, diffusing into the cells. - Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf. - The Calvin Cycle occurs in the stroma of chloroplasts - Carbon dioxide is captured by the chemical ribulose biphosphate (RuBP). RuBP is a 5-C chemical. Six molecules of carbon dioxide enter the Calvin Cycle, eventually producing one molecule of glucose.

What Is the Difference between Light and Dark Reaction? These refer to Photosynthesis. Light reaction converts the sunlight into chemical energy such as ATP and NADH+H. While dark reaction (light independent reaction) does not use the sunlight directly but it uses the ATP and NADH+H and C02 to produce sugars

D. Cellular Perspiration
Glycolysis literally means "splitting sugars." In glycolysis, glucose (a six carbon sugar) is split into two molecules of a three-carbon sugar. Glycolysis yields two molecules of ATP (free energy containing molecule), two molecules of pyruvic acid and two "high energy" electron carrying molecules of NADH.

1: Glycolysis
it can occur with or without oxygen. In the presence of oxygen, glycolysis is the first stage of cellular respiration. Without oxygen, glycolysis allows cells to make small amounts of ATP. This process is called fermentation.

2: Krebs Cycle
The Citric Acid Cycle or Krebs Cycle begins after the two molecules of the three carbon sugar produced in glycolysis are converted to a slightly different compound (acetyl CoA). Through a series of intermediate steps, several compounds capable of storing "high energy" electrons are produced along with two ATP molecules. These compounds, known as nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), are reduced in the process. These reduced forms carry the "high energy" electrons to the next stage. The Citric Acid Cycle occurs only when oxygen is present but it doesn't use oxygen directly.

3: The Electron Transport System

Embedded in the inner membrane are proteins and complexes of molecules that are involved in the process called electron transport. The electron transport system (ETS), as it is called, accepts energy from carriers in the matrix and stores it to a form that can be used to phosphorylate ADP.

 The electron transport system occurs in the cristae of the mitochondria, where a series of cytochromes (cell pigments) and coenzymes exist. These cytochromes and coenzymes act as carrier molecules and transfer molecules. They accept highenergy electrons and pass the electrons to the next molecule in the system. At key proton-pumping sites, the energy of the electrons transports protons across the membrane into the outer compartment of the mitochondrion.

 Each NADH molecule is highly energetic, which accounts for the transfer of six protons into the outer compartment of the mitochondrion. Each FADH2 molecule accounts for the transfer of four protons. The flow of electrons is similar to that taking place in photosynthesis. Electrons pass from NAD to FAD, to other cytochromes and coenzymes, and eventually they lose much of their energy. In cellular respiration, the final electron acceptor is an oxygen atom. In their energy-depleted condition, the electrons unite with an oxygen atom. The electron oxygen combination then reacts with two hydrogen ions (protons) to form a water molecule (H2O)

- the role of oxygen in cellular respiration is substantial. - As a final electron receptor, it is responsible for removing electrons from the system. If oxygen were not available, electrons could not be passed among the coenzymes, the energy in electrons could not be released, the proton pump could not be established, and ATP could not be produced. - In humans, breathing is the essential process that brings oxygen into the body for delivery to the cells to participate in cellular respiration.

E. Respiration of different molecules

The term cellular respiration refers to the biochemical pathway by which cells release energy from the chemical bonds of food molecules and provide that energy for the essential processes of life. All living cells must carry out cellular respiration. It can be aerobic respiration in the presence of oxygen or anaerobic respiration. Prokaryotic cells carry out cellular respiration within the cytoplasm or on the inner surfaces of the cells.

 More emphasis here will be placed on eukaryotic cells where the mitochondria are the site of most of the reactions. The energy currency of these cells is ATP, and one way to view the outcome of cellular respiration is as a production process for ATP.

F. The Mitochondrion as a site of respiration

mitochondria are the sites of respiration, and generate chemical energy in the form of ATP by metabolizing sugars, fats, and other chemical fuels with the assistance of molecular oxygen.

G. Aerobic respiration
is a process of cellular respiration that uses oxygen in order to break down molecules, which then release electrons and creating energy. In the process, aerobic respiration creates a substance known as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This is responsible for storing and carrying most of the energy to other body cells, thus making life as we know it possible. The other type of cellular respiration is known as anaerobic respiration. When an animal eats food or when a plant makes its own energy through photosynthesis, that food is broken down into its most basic form of sugars. Those sugars are useless to the body in that form, however. Therefore, a process of releasing the sugars contained in the food is needed in order to be used as energy by a cell. While oxygen may not be needed at the beginning of this process, in aerobic respiration it will be needed so that the process can be completed.

 There are two main byproducts of aerobic respiration. Because cellular structures are being changed with the transfer of electrons, there are chemical changes that go along with cellular respiration. The two main products coming from such respiration are water and carbon dioxide.