The Role of ATP in

Energy Coupling and Transfer

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Photosynthesis:
The Light Reaction Events
 A living cell cannot store significant amounts of free energy.

 Excess free energy would result in an increase of heat in the cell, which
would result in excessive thermal motion that could damage and then
destroy the cell.
 Rather, a cell must be able to handle that energy in a way that enables
the cell to store energy safely and release it for use only as needed.
COUPLED REACTION PROCESSES

 Energy production within a cell involves many coordinated chemical

pathways.
 Most of these pathways are combinations of oxidation and reduction in a
compound.
 A. Endergonic and Exergonic reactions
 Endergonic reactions require an input of energy.
 On the other hand, an exergonic reactions releases energy.
Exergonic hydrolysis of ATP and
Endergonic dehydration process
 Hydrolysis of ATP – It is the process of breaking complex
macromolecules. The hydrolysis of ATP produces ADP, together with an
inorganic phosphate ion , and the release of free energy.
Dehydration of ATP

 This reaction reverse the hydrolysis of ATP by regenerating ATP. This ATP
regeneration requires an input of free energy.
ATP STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION

 Adenosine triphosphate is comprised of adenosine bound to three

phosphate groups.
Part 1. The Structure of ATP

 ATP consist of three parts: 1 adenine molecule, 1 ribose sugar molecule

and 3 phosphate molecules. Energy is stored in the bond that is found
between the 2nd and 3rd phosphate groups.
Part 2. ATP Decomposition

 When a cell requires energy, it breaks off the last (3rd) phosphate group
from the ATP molecule, which release energy.
 The molecule that is left over is called adenosine diphosphate which
consists of adenine, ribose sugar and TWO phosphate groups. ADP
contains less energy than ATP.
Part 3: ATP synthesis

 ATP molecules are constantly being rebuilt from ADP and lone phosphate
groups. This ensures that cells always have a source of energy.
 However, it takes energy to make ATP. The energy to make ATP comes
from a carbohydrate called GLUCOSE. Glucose is a monosaccharide or
simple sugar. Plants produce glucose during photosynthesis.
Patterns of Electrons Flow through
Light Reaction Events

Core Concepts:

6 CO 2 +6 H 2O chlorophyll
C 6H 12O6 + 6 O2
 1. the light-dependent phase or photochemical reaction that occurs in the
granum and requires the presence of light energy; and
 2. the-independent phase/calvin cycle or carbon fixation that occurs in the
stroma with or without light.
 The products of the light-dependent phase are used as reactants in the
light-independent phase. Hence, the light-dependent phase is a
prerequisite to the light-independent phase.
 Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and magnesium are the major
essential nutrients needed by plants.

Light Reactions Events
 Light energy or photon is absorbed by a pigment molecule of the light
harvesting complex of Photosystem II and is passed on to other pigment
molecules nearby until the energy makes it to the reaction center. In the
reaction center, it is absorbed by the P680 pair of chlorophyll a.
 The electron in this pair of chlorophyll a is raised to an excited state and
is transferred to the primary electron acceptor. P680 loses its electron
and becomes positively charged (P680+).
 The positively charged molecule attracts electrons from a water
molecule, resulting to the splitting up of H20 into two electrons, two
hydrogen ions (H+), and an oxygen atom with the provision of light
energy. The oxygen atom immediately combines with another oxygen
atom to form an oxygen molecule (O2) which is then released outside
the leaf through the stomata.
 The excited electrons are then passed on from the primary electron
acceptor to the electron carrier molecules through the electron transport
chain until they reach Photosystem I. The electron carrier molecules
involved here are plastoquinone (Pq), a cytochrome complex, and
plastocyanin (Pc).
 At each transfer, the electrons release small amounts of energy. This
energy is used to pump hydrogen ions across the membrane. The
splitting up of water molecules results to an uneven distribution of
hydrogen ions in the stroma and the lumen. The H+ ions tries to
equalize their distribution by moving from the lumen to the stroma
through the aid of a membrane protein called ATP synthase. This is
referred to as chemiosmosis. The movement of hydrogen ions through
the ATP synthase channel triggers the synthesis of ATP from ADP. The
ATP contains high-energy phosphate bonds
 Meanwhile, photon is also absorbed and energy is passed on from one
pigment molecule to another until the energy reaches the reaction
center complex of Photosystem I. The energy excites the electron
present in the pair of P700 chlorophyll a located here. The excited
electron is then transferred to a primary electron acceptor, making the
P700 positively charged and now seeking electrons to fill up the missing
ones. This is filled up by the electrons from Photosystem II that are
passed on through the electron transport chain.
 The photo-excited electron from the primary electron acceptor of
Photosystem I enters another electron transfer chain, passing the
electron to an iron-containing protein called ferredoxin (Fd).
 An enzyme, the NADP+ reductase, then transfers the electron to
 NADP+ and stabilizes it by adding a proton (H+) to form NADPH. NADPH
is then released to the stroma and becomes part of the Calvin Cycle.
 If a plant receives only green light, how will this affect
photosynthesis?
 Most carnivorous plants thrive in the dark forest floor. Is there a
relationship between carnivory and thriving in the shade?
 Photosynthesis:
The Dark Reaction Events / Calvin Cycle
Core Concepts:

 The sugar that is produced in the Calvin Cycle is not the six-carbon
glucose that we are familiar with. This is formed later on.
 What is produced in the Calvin Cycle is a three-carbon sugar known as
G3P or glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate.
 The Calvin Cycle needs to ‘spin’ three times to make one molecule of
G3P from three molecules of CO2.
Three Phases of Calvin Cycle:
CARBON FIXATION
 • Carbon fixation is a process of incorporating an
inorganic carbon molecule, CO2, into an organic
material.
 In this phase, the CO2 molecule is attached to a five-carbon sugar
molecule named ribulose biphosphate (RuBP) aided by an enzyme
named rubisco or RuBP carboxylase. Rubisco is believed to be the
most abundant protein in the chloroplast and maybe on Earth
 The resulting product, a six-carbon sugar, is extremely unstable
and immediately splits in half. The split forms two molecules of a
3- phosphoglycerate (3-carbon).
REDUCTION
Electrons are added from nadph and through a series of reactions
3gp is reduced to form g3p, a carbohydrate Adp and NAD+ return
to the thylakoids to be converted back to ATP and NADPH by light
reactions
REGENERATION OF RuBP
 Five molecules of G3P undergo a series of complex enzymatic
reactions to form three molecules of RuBP. This costs the cell
another three molecules of ATP, but also provides another set of
RuBP to continue the cycle.
What happens to G3P after its release
from the cycle
 Two G3Ps can combine together to form either glucose or fructose which
are both are six-carbon sugar.
 Glucose and fructose can be combined to form sucrose.
 Glucose can be connected in chains to form starch.
 G3Ps can also be used in lipid and protein synthesis.
The cost of making carbohydrate:

 To make one molecule of G3P, the chloroplast needs:

 3 molecules of CO2
 9 molecules of ATP
 6 molecules of NADPH
