REVIEW QUESTIONS

Chapter 10
Alexander, Maureen Theresa S. Alexander 1E-PH

11. The most common accessory pigments in land plants are chlorophyll b and the
carotenoids. Algae that live in deep water have other accessory pigments because only
green and blue light penetrates deeply into water.

12. Name the electron carriers that transport electrons from photosystem II to
photosystem I. Which ones contain metal atoms, which do not?
The electron carriers that transport electrons from photosystem II to photosystem I
include phaeophytin, Q (a molecule of quinone), plastoquinone, cytochrome b6/f
complex, and the plastocyanin. Those that contain metal atoms are the cytochrome b6/f
complex that contains a cofactor heme which holds an iron atom and plastocyanin
which contains copper. Those that do not contain metal atoms are phaeophytin, Q, and
plastoquinone.

13. When photosystem I produces NADPH, its reaction center P700 chlorophyll a loses
electrons. What would happen if photosystem II did not supply new electrons to P700?
By losing an electron, P700 becomes oxidized. If the photosystem II does not supply
electrons to P700, the bonding orbitals could easily rearrange, causing the molecule to
break down and be destroyed because of its oxidized state. Thus, it is important that the
photosystem II provides the electron to enable the molecule to work repeatedly.

14. When electrons are removed from water, protons are liberated. Does this occur in
stroma or inside the thylakoid lumen? Can protons move directly across the membrane?
Describe the chemiosmotic mechanism of ATP synthesis in chloroplasts.
Reactions that break down water and produce oxygen and protons are located on the
lumen side of the thylakoid membrane.
This membrane is not permeable to protons; therefore, as light reactions run, the
thylakoid interior accumulates these protons, and their concentration increases.
The chemiosmotic mechanism of ATP synthesis in chloroplasts is generated by the light
reactions, but the process is indirect. Reactions that break down water and produce
oxygen and protons are located on the lumen side of the thylakoid membrane, in the
granum areas. This membrane is impermeable to protons; thus as the light reactions
run, the thylakoid interior accumulates protons, and their concentration increases.
Another factor contributing to the increased concentration of protons inside the thylakoid
lumen results during electron transport between P680 and P700 in which plastoquinone
moves a proton from the stroma to the thylakoid lumen every time it carries an electron
between phaeophytin and the cytochrome b6/f complex.
The strong differences between the concentrations of protons inside the thylakoid lumen
compared to its exterior; the stroma becomes so powerful that protons begin to flow out
of the lumen through special channels in the membrane. These channels are complex
set of enzymes that can synthesize ATP from ADP and phosphate; the entire complex
is called ATP synthetase. And as the protons return to the stroma by passing through
through ATP synthetases, their passage is exergonic and this powers the
phosphorylation of ADP to ATP.

15. Is ADP converted to ATP directly by the reaction center chlorophylls? Do the
enzymes that synthesize ATP obtain the necessary energy by interacting directly with
the reaction center chlorophylls?
ADP is not converted to ATP directly by the reaction center chlorophylls.
The entire complex set of enzymes that synthesize ATP from ADP and phosphate is
called ATP synthetase which is specifically known as the CF
0
-CF
1
complex. CF
0
is the
portion of the enzyme spanning the membrane where the actual proton channel is
located. CF
1
is the portion of the enzyme that phosphorylates ADP to ATP. The power
required to force phosphate onto ADP and establish the high-energy bonding orbitals to
ATP comes from the flow of protons through the ATP synthetase channels. This
passage is known to be exergonic and is responsible in powering the phosphorylation of
ADP to ATP, not from the reaction center chlorophylls.

16. What chemical is the acceptor of carbon dioxide in the C
3
cycle? What enzyme
catalyzes the reaction, and what is the product?
The ribulose-1, 5-biphosphate: RuBP is the acceptor of carbon dioxide in the C
3
cycle.
The enzyme that catalyzes the reaction is RuBP carboxylase (RUBISCO) which is one
of the largest and most complex enzymes known-a giant complex of two kinds of protein
subunits.
The product are two identical molecules containing three-carbons: 3-phosphoglycerate.
This came from the RuBP which contains five carbons and one carbon from carbon
dioxide. The new molecule obtained break apart immediately while still on RUBISCO
because stable bonding cannot be formed between all six carbon atoms. Instead, the
orbitals rearrange and thus 2 molecules of 3-phosphoglycerate (each contains 3
carbons)are obtained.

17. RuBP carboxylase is by no means an ideal enzyme. Describe some of its problems
with its active site and its substrate specificity. If we compare the amino acid sequences
of this enzyme from many different species, they are almost identical. What is the
significance of this uniformity?
Its active site recognizes and bonds to carbon dioxide only poorly, and it has low
substrate specificity, frequently putting oxygen rather than carbon dioxide onto RuBP.
The amino acid sequences of RuBP carboxylase from all plants are virtually identical.
The significance of this uniformity is to ensure that all plants are able to carry out the
reaction catalyzed by this enzyme, and any mutation that cause any change in
structure, disturb the active sites and are selectively disadvantageous.

18. Which chemicals are useful for energy storage on a short-term basis? Which are for
intermediate term and which are for long term?
Chemicals that are useful for energy storage on a short-term basis are ATP and
NADPH that can be used within the cell and last only briefly.
For intermediate-term storage, the simple sugar glucose and the disaccharide sucrose
are stable enough to be moved from cell to cell, either in the vascular tissue of a plant or
in a blood stream. They are also sufficiently stable to last for weeks or months. A
problem with storing large quantities of monosaccharide or disaccharide is that they
cause cells to absorb water by osmosis.
Lastly, for the long-term storage, starch is used for it is a large, high-molecular-weight
polymer of glucose, too large to be transported. It is even more stable than glucose, last
for years, and does not cause the cell to absorb water. Lipids are even more
concentrated storage form of energy that can be synthesized rapidly and stored in large
quantities.

19. What is the quality of light? How does it differ for plants in deserts, grasslands, and
the canopy of a forest versus plants in the understory? How does it differ for algae that
grow near the surface of a lake or ocean versus those inhabit deep water far below the
surface?
The quality of sunlight refers to the colors or wavelength it contains. Sunlight is pure
white because it contains the entire visible spectrum.
During sunset and sunrise, sunlight passes tangentially through the atmosphere, and a
large percentage of blue light is deflected upward; consequently, light at ground level is
enriched in red, which is easily visible. At noon, sunlight passes nearly vertically through
the atmosphere, more blue light is transmitted, and even though the blueness of the sky
suggests that all reds, greens, and yellows have been blocked, in fact, enough of all the
wavelengths penetrate to earths surface to allow efficient photosynthesis. This is true of
plants in deserts, grasslands, and the top layer-the canopy-of a forest. These plants
have been provided by the correct quality of light that is needed for photosynthesis.
However, herbs and shrubs that grow near soil level in a forest are understory plants,
and the light that they receive has already passed through the canopy. As light
penetrates the leaves of the canopy, red and blue are absorbed by the chlorophyll, so
the dim light received by the understory plants is especially depleted in these critical
wavelengths. Thus, it is selectively advantageous for the understory plants to have extra
amounts of accessory pigments so that they can gather the wavelengths available and
use this to pass the energy on to chlorophyll a.
Similarly, algae that grow near the surface of lakes or oceans receive complete light, but
water absorbs red and violet. Algae at deep regions receive mostly green and blue light
and must have special accessory pigments capable of absorbing these wavelengths
efficiently.

20. How is the quantity of light affected by a plants location relative to the equator or
the poles? On one side of a mountain or the other? On one side of a valley or the other?
Plants growing near the equator receive intense light because the sun is always more or
less directly overhead at noon, whereas plants near the poles receive very little light.
Even during the summer the sun is low at noon, and light is scattered by the
atmosphere.
Plants growing in the shadow of mountains or in deep canyons receive much less light
than plants that grow on slopes that face the sun. This is also true for plants that are on
the valley being overshadowed by mountains, thus they receive less light.