PHOTOSYNTHESIS

LIGHT DEPENDENT REACTION

AND LIGHT INDEPENDENT
REACTION/ CALVIN CYCLE
1. 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.
2. 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+).
3. 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.
4. 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).
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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).
 ANNOTATION:

8. 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.
LIGHT INDEPENDENT
REACTIONS OR THE
CALVIN CYCLE
Light Independent
Reaction/Calvin Cycle
- The Calvin cycle, light-independent
reactions, bio synthetic phase, dark
reactions, or photosynthetic carbon
reduction cycle of photosynthesis are the
chemical reactions that convert carbon
dioxide and other compounds into glucose.