PHOTOSYNTHES

IS

By
JYOSTNA MANGARAJ
•(PGT BIOLOGY)
•(DAV , PKT)
PHOTOSYNT
HESIS:
SITE AND
PIGMENTS
Leaf
Structure

Palisade
mesophyll cell

Spongy
mesophyll cell
Photosynthesis occurs inside
Chloroplasts

Internal membrane
arranged in flattened sacs; Semiliquid
contain chlorophyll and substance
A stack of other pigments surrounding
thylakoid
thylakoid
membranes
membranes
CHLOROPLAST • Photosynthesis takes place in green
leaves and other green parts of the
plants.
• Chloroplasts present in the walls of
leaves’ mesophyll cells help get the
optimum quantity of incident light.
• Chloroplast contains a membranous
system.
• It consists of grana, stroma lamella
and fluid stroma.
• Each granum is a group of
membrane-bound sacs called
thylakoids (lamellae). They contain
leaf pigments.
 Two pathways:

Light-dependent Light-independent
reactions: reactions:
light energy produces sugars
converted to
[old name: Dark
chemical energy reactions –
[Light reactions] misleading as it
happens in the
light; no need of
darkness]
 • There is a clear division of labour within
CHLOROPLAST chloroplasts:
- The membrane system traps light energy
and synthesises ATP and NADPH. These
events are directly light-driven, and are
called ‘light reactions’.
• In stroma enzymatic reactions incorporate
carbon dioxide in plants and synthesize
sugar. These events are not directly light-
driven but are dependent on products of
light reactions (ATP and NADPH), and are
referred to as dark reactions. Here sugar in
turn forms starch. It is called a dark
reaction.
• It does not mean that they occur in
darkness.
Photosynt
hetic
Pigments
Function:
absorb visible light and
convert it to chemical
energy
WHY ARE LEAVES GREEN?
Chloroplast
pigments
absorb blue
and red light
and reflect or
transmit
green light.
White Light

Green is reflected!

Leaf Pigments
Absorb Most
Colors
What are
PIGMENT
S?
Photosynt
hetic
Pigments
•TWO classes in green plants:
• Chlorophylls (chl a and b
predominate in plants)
• Carotenoids (like -
carotene)

Why are most photosynthetic pigments either greenish or yellowish?

The green colour is due to chlorophylls and the yellow is due to carotenoids.
OR
As pigments do not absorb the green or yellow wavelength of light.
Photosynthetic
Pigments
involved in
• The leaf pigments separated through pa
photosynthesis

•TWO classes in green

plants:
• Chlorophylls (chl a
and b predominate in
plants)
• Carotenoids (like -
carotene)
PIGMENTS INVOLVED IN
PHOTOSYNTHESIS:
• Pigments are substances that have ability to absorb
light at specific wavelengths.
• Chromatography shows the following leaf pigments in
chromatogram:
Chlorophyll a: Bright or blue green.
Chlorophyll b: Yellow green
Xanthophylls: Yellow
Carotenoids: Yellow to yellow orange.
• Chlorophyll b, Xanthophyll and Carotenoids are
accessory pigments.
• PIGMENTS OF A ACCESSORY PIGMENTS:
- They absorb light at different wavelength and transfer
the energy to chlorophyll a.
-They protect chlorophyll a from photo-oxidation.
Carotene
Chlorophyll a is:
a primary pigment as it
loses electrons

Xanthophyll

Chlorophyll a is:
Chlorophyll a
the most abundant
Chlorophyll b
photosynthetic pigment
1) Chlorophylls
• absorb mainly red & blue-
violet light
• reflect green light - giving
green leaves their colour
 Carotenoids
 yellow, orange, red or brown
pigments

 absorb strongly in
the blue-violet
range
Two functions of carotenoids
1) protect chlorophylls from:
 excess light
 oxidation by oxygen produced in
photosynthesis

2) together with chlorophylls

absorb much of the visible
spectrum
 Sunlight ( white light)
-sunlight is actually white light made of all wavelength colors
-sunlight is visible light
-different colors=different wavelengths of light
The Visible Spectrum
violet-blue-green-yellow-orange-red

380 nm 750 nm
Electromagnetic Spectrum
 • The absorption spectrum and action spectrum
PIGMENTS coincide closely showing that photosynthesis is
INVOLVED IN maximum at the blue and red regions of the
PHOTOSYNTHE spectrum.
SIS: • The graph also shows that chlorophyll a is the chief
pigment associated with photosynthesis.
Absorption Spectrums
Absorption spectrums are graphs that plot a pigment’s light absorption vs. wavelength

Absorption spectrum of chlorophyll

**Remember:
Green wavelengths are
between ~475 and 600 nm
Absorption
Spectrum: plot of
wavelengths
absorbed by a
pigment

•What is the importance of

having VARIOUS pigments?
Action spectrums
A. Action spectrums tell
you how much
photosynthesis is
occurring at each
wavelength

B. Made by illuminating
chloroplast with different
wavelengths of light and
then plotting wavelength
against some measure of
photosynthetic rate

C. The photosynthetic
rates could be measured Action spectrum for chlorophyll
by finding oxygen
production, carbon dioxide
absorption or light
absorption
Comparison of absorption and action
spectra
Absorption spectrum Action spectrum
for chlorophyll for chlorophyll

*Almost no absorption at *The photosynthetic rate is

green wavelengths very low at green wavelengths
What happens to the
light ABSORBED?
Reflected
Light light

Light energy
is converted to
chemical energy
This happens on
photosystems.
Chloroplast
Absorbed
light Transmitted
light
•Chlorophyll molecules are
embedded in a protein complex in
the thylakoid membrane
What is a
‘Photosyst
em’?
A Photosystem is a highly
organized assembly of:
proteins
chlorophyll
accessory pigment molecules
 A photosystem consists of:
1. an antenna complex / light
harvesting-complex :
hundreds of chlorophyll
and accessory pigment
molecules
2. a reaction center of one or
more chlorophyll a
molecules
Function of the :
1. Light-harvesting complex:
 absorbs light
 pass its energy to a pair of specialised chlorophyll a
molecules within the reaction centre
2. Reaction centre:
 pass the energy out of the photosystem
Light energy Electron
Light-harvesting
acceptor
complex

Reaction
centre

PHOTOSYSTEM
 Two Photosystems
[PS]

P – pigment

The photosystem I was named "I" ETC – electron transport chain

since it was discovered before [a series of redox reactions
photosystem II
occur]
PHOTOSYSTE • Pigments are organized into two
Photosystems called Photosystem I(PSI) and
MS Photosystem II(PS II). These are named in the
sequence of their discovery..
• Each photosystem has a chlorophyll a and
accessory pigments bound by proteins.
• All pigments (except one molecule of
chlorophyll a ) form a light harvesting
complex(LHC or antennae)
• Single chlorophyll act as reaction centre.
• In PS-I, the reaction centre absorbs light at
700 nm. And so called P700.
• In PS II, the reaction centre absorbs light at
680 nm, and so called P680.
PHOTOSYSTEMS:
organized chlorophyll,
proteins, small
organic molecules.

REACTION CENTER:
chlorophyll a receives
energized e- from
other pigments,
passes them to
PRIMARY ELECTRON
ACCEPTOR: traps
high energy electrons.
 What happens to the light energy absorbed by antenna pigment
molecules (chlorophyll b and β-carotene)?

The energy is
transferred ultimately
to a chlorophyll a
reaction center
pigment to drive
photosynthesis.
Important:
Pigments in antenna
complex:
The reaction centre
transfer ENERGY
LOSES electrons

Light
Pigment molecules
Acceptor

Donor
Antenna complex
Excitation of chlorophyll by
light
When a pigment
molecule absorbs
light it is said to
become excited.

Excited (energised)
electrons move further
from the nucleus of the
atom.
 Excitation of chlorophyll by light
• Chlorophyll a is the only pigment that directly participates in
the light-dependent reactions
• Other pigments add energy to chlorophyll a or dissipate
excessive light energy
• Absorption of light elevates an
electron to a higher energy
orbital (increased potential
energy)
What happens when the excited electron
returns to its original orbit?
Pho
ton

The excited state is unstable and the molecule can

pass the energy to another molecule or release it in
the form of light or heat.