How Does Chloroplasts To Perform Photosynthesis

There are two main types of chlorophyll, chlorophyll a which absorbs wavelengths of 430nm (blue) and 662 (red) and is the main photosynthetic pigment, and chlorophyll b, which doesn’t directly participate in the photosynthetic process, but is capable of donating its energy to chlorophyll a

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants use light to synthesize food from H2O and CO2 within the thylakoid and the stroma of the cells. In order for photosynthesis to occur, light must be present. Light reactions occur within the thylakoids of the chloroplasts by absorbing light and H2O and producing oxygen gas, ATP, or Adenosine triphosphate, and NADPH, or nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate. The oxygen gas is released back into the atmosphere while ATP and NADPH are inputs of the Calvin Cycle within the stroma. The Calvin Cycle uses these two molecules, in addition to carbon dioxide gas, to produce ADP, or Adenosine diphosphate, NADP+, and glucose molecules. Photosynthesis is represented by the following equation:

Abstract: The purpose of this lab is to separate and identify pigments and other molecules within plant cells by a process called chromatography. We will also be measuring the rate of photosynthesis in isolated chloroplasts. Beta carotene, the most abundant carotene in plants, is carried along near the solvent front because it is very soluble in the solvent being used and because it forms no hydrogen bonds with cellulose. Xanthophyll is found further from the solvent font because it is less soluble in the solvent and has been slowed down by hydrogen bonding to the cellulose. Chlorophylls contain oxygen and nitrogen and are bound more tightly to the paper than the other pigments.

Chloroplasts are important photosynthetic organelles that present in plant cells. It is believed that chloroplasts evolve from an endosymbiotic event; engulfment of a photosynthetic cyanobacterium by a large heterotrophic host cell (1, 2). During this process proteins in the cyanobacterium has been transferred to the nucleus and also the proteins that are essential for organelle biogenesis has been transferred to the cyanobacterium making it dependent on the host. Although chloroplast proteins have estimated to consist of 3500-4000 different types of polypeptides, the protein coding capacity in chloroplast genes is approximately 200 polypeptides (3, 4). This data further suggest that most of the proteins found in chloroplast are encode by nuclear genome and transport to the chloroplast. At least, a few proteins are use secretory pathway in which first targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum and then transfer to the chloroplast through vesicles (5-7).

The chloroplast contains the pigment chlorophyll which traps light energy (Yablonski, 16). Chloroplasts give leaves their green color by the pigments chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, carotene and xanthophyll found in chlorophyll; the pigments chlorophyll a and b are separated from the other two pigments through chromatography to determine their absorbance levels (Griffith, 438). These pigments absorb and reflect certain wavelength of the visible spectrum which gives the leaf its green color; it absorbs wavelengths which are red and blue but reflect the yellow and green wavelengths of the spectrum making the leaf appear green in color to the human eye (Glover, et al, 505). Therefore the wavelengths which were reflected make up the colour of the leaves (Glover, et al, 505). This chromatographic separation was conducted to extract the different pigment in the chloroplast extract and to separate each of the different components (Quach, et al, 385). The wavelengths which are absorbed by each chlorophyll pigment are different and are based on the visible spectrum. Chlorophyll a obtains most of its energy from the violet blue, reddish orange and a low amount of the green-yellow-orange wavelengths regions of the visible spectrum compared to chlorophyll b which absorbs all the wavelengths not absorbed by chlorophyll a (Shibghatallah, et al, 3). From the results in the lab, it can be seen that the absorbance values determined fluctuate a lot, which resulted in a graph with more than one peak and downfalls. The highest peak determined by this experiment occurred at 660 nm for both chlorophylls. This can be confirmed by Schmid and his team who determined that the wavelength of chlorophyll a occurs between 660-680 nm whereas chlorophyll b absorbs wavelengths between 645-660 nm (Schmid, et al, 30). Thus, we can conclude by saying the spectroscopy helped us determine accurate

The main source of energy in photosynthesis is light energy, which is converted to glucose sugar, and later converted into ATP to provide energy to the cells. In the first phase, photons of sunlight hit the thylakoid membrane, exciting chloroplast molecules, inducing the transport of the electrons extracted from water splitting to form oxygen, down an electron transport chain, much like the one in cellular respiration. In this electron transport chain, the final electron acceptor is NADP+, which is reduced to NADPH to be used later in the Calvin cycle. Much like in cellular respiration, a proton gradient builds up within the thylakoid, and protons are passively transported from the thylakoid lumen to the chloroplast stroma through the enzyme, ATP synthase which phosphorylates ADP to make ATP. This type of chemiosmosis of protons to create ATP energy is uniquely called photophosphorylation. In photosynthesis, carbon dioxide is taken up from the atmosphere from the plants’ stomata, ultimately to create glucose molecules. The oxygen released from water splitting by photosystem II is crucial for almost all life. Overall, the process of photosynthesis is anabolic, as it builds up a large molecule, glucose from less complex smaller molecules, while requiring energy to do so.

The purpose of this lab was to understand what an absorption spectrum is, and how intact chloroplast membranes capture radiant energy and use that energy to energize electrons. The other goal was to understand which colors of visible light most effectively generate high-energy electrons in a physiologically membrane. Experiment 1 was done by the AI, so for experiment 2, 80% acetone was used to dilute the pigments. After that, a spectrophotometer was set at the wavelength of 380 nm and the absorbance of the isolated chloroplast pigments were collected. For experiment 3, the wavelength of the spectrophotometer was set at 605 nm to see what colors of light drive the light reactions of photosynthesis most effectively.

The chloroplasts are organelles found in plant cells. The chloroplast is the site of photosynthesis. Since chloroplast is the site of photosynthesis it is also where sugar is produced, because glucose is a product of photosynthesis. To begin with, I made a solar power sugarcane processing plant. The reason being is that the chloroplast is where photosynthesis takes place and a product of photosynthesis is glucose (sugar), and a sugarcane processing plant produces sugar. In photosynthesis, light energy from the sun is converted into chemical energy, which is then stored and also used to make glucose. I have a light in the corner to represent the sun and solar panels on the roof, which shows energy transformation.

Chloroplasts are organelles found only in plant cells and the cells of certain protists. Cells containing chloroplasts already contain mitochondria (other energy-producing organelles), but chloroplasts provide another method of producing energy. Chloroplasts use light (typically solar) energy to produce energy in a form usable for the cell. They convert the light energy to chemical energy in a process called photosynthesis. Light energy is stored in chlorophyll, the pigment that gives plants their green color, within disks called thylakoids.

First, a photon of light hits a pigment molecule in a light-harvesting complex--located in the Thylakoid membrane--boosting one of its electrons to a higher energy level. Then as the electron falls back to its ground state, another electron in a nearby pigment molecule gets excited. This process happens over and over again, from pigment molecule to pigment molecule, until it reaches the pair of chlorophyll a molecules in the Photosystem II reaction-center complex. Then it excites an in this pair of chlorophylls to a higher energy state. Next, this electron is transferred from the excited chlorophyll pair to the primary electron acceptor. When this happens the chlorophyll pair becomes positively charged (due to the missing electron), and an

For lab 12, it is hypothesized that chlorophylls a and b are present in a plant leaf and contribute to the starch production in photosynthesis. Also, products of photosynthesis will be present in leaf tissue exposed to red and blue light wavelengths for several days, but a decreased presence in leaf tissue exposed to green and black light wavelengths. In lab 13, it is expected that since chlorophylls a and b are more polar and smaller molecules than the anthyocyanins and carotenoids, they will travel higher up the chromatography paper than the other pigments.

Upon discovery of photosynthesis and the pathways that the molecules took during this process, chloroplasts were soon uncovered. Scientists have taken a keen interest in chloroplasts since their discovery. This review article will explore the discovery, structure, metabolic processes, regulation and the genome of the chloroplast. Chloroplast are not only vital in providing food for plant life, they are essential regulating and producing molecules for the cell. Once thought to function on their own chloroplast have their own DNA and many unique characterizes. While much has been discovered about the chloroplast there are still many unanswered questions and useful applications for these tiny organelles.

In the thylakoid membrane is located the Photosystem consist of three components receiving energy wavelengths in the molecules at P680 and P700. The first component is the reaction center where a Chlorophyll (a) delivers an excited electron to the primary acceptor. The second component is the antenna complex, which are protein and chlorophyll molecules that transfer light energy to Chlorophyll (a). The other component is the primary electron acceptor which receives the lost electron from chlorophyll (a).

In photosynthesis plants use light to form energy-rich compounds from water and carbon dioxide from the air. The decisive reactions occur in a reaction centre in the cell. The incoming light is caught in an antenna system and finds its way to a pair of chlorophyll molecules (see picture).

Plants photosynthesise to sustain themselves, using chlorophyll and sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose (sugar) and oxygen. Chlorophyll is a pigment that is found in the chloroplast organelle of a plant cell. It gives plants their green colour. Since chlorophyll is necessary for photosynthesis, albino plants tend to have a shorter lifespan than