David Barker

Carbon dioxide in organisms and ecosystems

Carbon is one of the major macromolecules in living organisms, and the main source is CO2 making 0.04% of the air in the atmosphere. Nutrients such as CO2 and nitrogen do not have and extra terrestrial source such as light so must be recycled. Photosynthetic organisms remove CO2 from the air by photosynthesis to make macromolecules such as carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Photosynthesis changes the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. At night the CO2 levels are higher than they are in the day, this is because photosynthesis relies on light. Respiration happens throughout the day and night creating a greater net CO2 released into the air during the night. The concentration of carbon dioxide has increased over the last century or so due to the industrial revolution increasing the combustion of fossil fuels and deforestation. For example the combustion of methane, CH4 + 2O2 CO2 + 2H2O produces CO2 as a product. Deforestation lowers the amount of CO2 taken in from photosynthesis by the trees. There are also massive stores of CO2 in the oceans 50 times greater than in the atmosphere. Phyto-plankton uses the CO2 to photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is also a green house gas contributing to global warming. Carbon dioxide is a product of respiration. Many organisms breathe in O2 and breath out C02. The link reaction takes in pyruvate molecules from glycolysis in the matrix of the mitochondria. Pyruvate is then oxidised by from removing hydrogen and giving it to the NAD to make reduced NADH. The two carbon molecule called acetyl group A and Co-enzyme A make Acetyl Co A and CO2 is produced as a result. The Krebs cycle is a series of oxidation-reduction reactions, which happen in the mitochondria. 2 Acetyl Co As combine with a four carbon molecule to make a 6 carbon molecule. 2 CO2s are lost to make a 4-carbon molecule and ATP. The 4-carbon molecule joins with another Acetyl Co A to make another 6-carbon molecule and repeats. The CO2 in humans is transported in the blood to the lungs where it diffuses out down its concentration gradient, and breathed out. For every molecule of glucose, organisms release 6 molecules of CO2. Carbon dioxide is used in photosynthesis, specifically in the Calvin cycle also known as the light independent stage. CO2 diffuses through leaf into the stomata dissolves around the walls of the mesophyll cells. The CO2 then diffuses through the plasma membrane into the chloroplast into the stroma. After the carbon dioxide reaches the stroma it combines with Ribulose Bisphosphate using an enzyme. The fluid of the stroma contains all the enzymes needed to light independent reaction (reduction of carbon dioxide). This produces two molecules of 3-carbon Glycerate 3 phosphate. ATP and NADP from the light independent reaction are used to reduce the GP to Triose phosphate. The NADP is reformed and goes back into the light dependent stage to be reduced by more hydrogen. Some of the TP goes to useful organic substances, such as glucose. Most triose phosphate molecules are used to regenerate Ribulose Bisphosphate using ATP from the light dependant reaction.

David Barker Carbon dioxide is also a limiting factor in photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is one of the rarest gasses present in air, and is often a factor that limits the rate of photosynthesis under normal conditions. The optimum concentration of carbon dioxide for photosynthesis is 0.1% and growers of some greenhouse crops such as tomatoes, enrich the air with more carbon dioxide to produce higher yields. CO2 affects enzyme activity, in particular the enzyme that catalyse that catalyses the combination of Ribulose Bisphosphate with carbon dioxide in the lightdependent reaction.