Plant Bio Exam 2 Flashcards
Ribulose-bis-phosphate carboxylase-oxygenase [RuBisCO] is what?
‘fickle’; it has an achilles heel
- usually fixes. CO2 (by adding it to ribulose bisphosphate)
- But, under some circumstances it grabs O2 and metabolizes it instead
- This is a big mistake and very costly to the plant
RuBisCO problem
Binding and metabolizing of O2 by RuBisCO
photorespiration
- occurs when CO2 levels are relatively low in the leaf
- this condition is particularly a problem when temperatures are high, and the plant needs to close its stomates
- this favors RuBisCO binding O2 instead
photorespiration
3 scenarios that might favor photorespiration
- Hot dry conditions
- Historical periods of higher O2 in atmosphere
- Crowded conditions for plants with little air movement
Scenario 1: Hot dry conditions
- stomates shut down to conserve water
– O2 waste can’t get out of leaf
– CO2 can’t get into leaf - Relative O2 increases, CO2 goes down
– photorespiration favored
Scenario 3: Crowded conditions for plants with little air movement
this inhibits effective gas exchange and also causes relative increases of O2 in the leaf
Photorespiration involves an alternate what?
metabolic pathway
- O2 is consumed, CO2 is not consumed
- CO2 is released! (as part of complex salvage pathway of glycolate)
- No net useful carbohydrate is produced
- Energy (ATP, NADPH) is wasted on the Glycolate pathway
photorespiration
- Use of O2 instead of CO2 by RuBisCO in the chloroplast
- Wastes RUBP and costs energy
- favored under situations that increase relative concentration of O2 compared to CO2
Photorespiration
Flower plants have evolved two separate (but related) strategies to avoid photorespiration
- C4 photosynthesis
- CAM photosynthesis
- both are adaptations to dry hot climates
- both involve cellular mechanisms to increase the concentration of CO2 around RuBisCO in order to minimize photorespiration and favor CO2 fixation
C4 photosynthesis & CAM photosynthesis
A spatial solution: employs an altered leaf morphology that separates:
- the location of cells where light reactions and carbon capture occur
vs
- the location of cells where the Calvin cycle occurs
C4 Photosynthesis
The light reactions and carbon sequestration occur in what in C4 plants?
mesophyll cells surrounding the bundle sheath
The calvin cycle in C4 plants occur in what?
the bundle sheath cells
CO2 enters through open stomates and diffuses to?
mesophyll cells surrounding the bundle sheath
CO2 (1C) combines with PEP (3C) (via PEP Carboxylase) to form OAA (oxaloacetate; 4C)
Step 1: CO2 Sequestration
Why is the pathway called ‘C4’
because a 4-carbon compound (OAA) is the first compound recovered in CO2 tracer studies
Step 2 of C4 pathway
OAA (4C) is chemically modified to form Malic acid (also 4C)
Step 3 of C4 pathway
Malic acid is then transferred from a mesophyll cell to a bundle sheath cell
Step 4 of C4 pathway
in the bundle sheath cell, CO2 is released from malic acid by a decarboxylase, leaving Pyruvic acid
- Co2 is then captured by RuBisCO for the Calvin Cycle in the bundle sheath cell
Pyruvate (C3) is transported back to what where it is recycled into PEP (3C) – the original CO2 capture molecule
mesophyll cell
Advantages of the C4 pathway
- the bundle sheath cells greatly concentrate CO2 so that [CO2] is much greater than that of [O2]
- this favors the - carboxylase activity of RuBisCO
- photosynthesis is much more efficient, allowing either
1. fewer stomates to be present
2. Stomates able to close more often
Which both conserve water
Disadvantages of the C4 pathway
- energetically very expensive
- C4 photosynthesis therefore not favored in moist cool environments, where C3 is energetically favored
Examples of C4 plants
Many grass species (monocots) including:
- corn, sorghum, sugarcane, millet, switchgrass
Also, many eudicot species adapted to weedy, disturbed hot, dry habitats:
- Amaranths, Chenopods, Euphorbs (some)
About 8,000 flowering plants species use C4 carbon fixation; what percentage is this?
3%
Light reactions (day time) and carbon capture (night time) occur at different times
- Stomates are closed during day, thus massively conserving water
- stomates open at night and CO2 is sequestered and stored
- Carbon is then released during the daytime when light reactions are producing ATP and NADPH
CAM photosynthesis (Crassulacean acid metabolism)
CAM plants at night
stomates open
- CO2 stored as malate in the central vacuole
- Same chemical pathway as for C4 plants
CAM during day
stomates closed
- malate is transported to the chloroplast
- CO2 is released from malate by a decarboxylase
- CO2 is then fixed by RuBisCO and enters Calvin cycle
CAM leaf anatomy is designed for what?
maximum water conservation
Advantages of the CAM pathway
stomates are closed during the day minimizing water loss
Disadvantages of the CAM pathway
- energetically very expensive
- CAM photosynthesis is not favored except in very extreme, dry environments
Examples of CAM plants
Succulents
- Cacti, Desert Euphorbs
Epiphytes
- Bromeliads, orchids
C4 plant leafs have no what?
Palisade mesophyll layer
About 16,000 plants species use CAM carbon fixation, so about 2x that for C4 photosynthesis. What percentage is that?
6%
Separation of initial CO2 fixation and Calvin cycle: C3 vs C4 vs CAM
- C3: No separation
- C4: Between mesophyll and bundle sheath cells (in space)
- CAM: Between night and day (in time)
Stomata open: C3 vs C4 vs CAM
- C3: Day
- C4: Day
- CAM: night
Best adapted to: C3 vs C4 vs CAM
- C3: cool, wet environments
- C4: Hot, sunny environments
- CAM: Very hot, dry environments
Plants like all other organisms respire in order to what?
generate usable energy (ATP) for metabolism
As for other organisms, plants get energy through the process of
aerobic respiration, in which glucose is broken down in the presence of oxygen to form: CO2, H2O and ATP
Plants make what through photosynthesis?
sugars
In order to extract the energy, the sugars must be what?
broken down by respiration in the mitochondria
Sugars made by photosynthesis are what?
stable energy molecules that can be stored or transported
This energy extracted from sugars (mostly ATP) is used throughout the plant for carrying out its various life processes:
growth, maintenance, defense, all of which utilize long pathways that use ATP to activate intermediates
Breakdown of glucose by aerobic respiration in a eukaryotic cell does not occur inwhat?
a giant explosion of energy
Instead, energy is released how?
in small, incremental steps in 3 main reactions that safely and efficiently maximizes ATP production with minimized loss of energy as heat
3 major steps of aerobic respiration
- Glycolysis
- Pyruvate Oxidation & Citric acid cycle
- Electron transport & ATP synthesis by chemiosmosis
Glycolysis function
splitting of glucose (6C) into 2 x 3 carbon pyruvate molecules
Pyruvate oxidation and citric acid cycle function
Oxidation of pyruvate to CO2, yielding high energy electrons
Electron transport & ATP synthesis by chemiosmosis function
Harvesting of electron energy; reduction of O2 to H2O; coupled with ATP production by a membrane proton pump
Glycolysis location
Cytoplasm
Pyruvate oxidation and citric acid cycle location
Mitochondrion (matrix)
Electron transport & ATP synthesis by chemiosmosis location
mitochondrion (inner membrane)
Net result of glycolysis
- 2 net ATP molecules are produced
- 2 NADH electron carriers produced
most of energy of glucose still remains in pyruvate
To extract remaining energy from pyruvate:
- oxygen must be present
- oxygen acts as an electronegative sink that draws electrons, releasing energy - pyruvate must enter the mitochondrion form cytoplasm
- most of the enzymes required for aerobic respiration of pyruvate are imbedded in mitochondrial membranes
- the mitochondrion (via ancient endosymbiosis) brought the aerobic respiration pathway to the first eukaryotic cells
Pyruvate oxidation and citric acid cycle steps
- pyruvate is transported across the double membranes of the mitochondrion (mt) by specific transport proteins
- In mt, pyruvate is “prepared” for the citric acid cycle:
- CO2 is removed
- Coenzyme A is added
– 1 NAD+ is reduced to NADH
Citric acid cycle occurs where
Occurs in the matrix (inner spaces) of
the mitochondrion
The citric acid cycle is a cyclical series of reaction whereby:
- Acetyl group of acetyl-CoA (2C) is combined with a 4C molecule (oxaloacetate) to make a 6C molecule (citrate)
- Citrate (6C) is systematically oxidized in 8 steps that regenerates oxaloacetic acid (4C)
Both carbons of the acetyl group are ultimately lost as low energy what?
CO2
Oxidation during cycle yields: (per acetyl group)
- 3 NADH
- 1 FADH2
- 1 ATP
Net production from one glucose molecule through the end of the citric acid cycle
4 ATP + 10 NADH + 2 FADH2
→ Electrons are transferred from NADH and FADH2 to the E.T.C. embedded in the inner mitochondrial membrane
→ As electrons move down chain, they drive the pumping of protons (H+) to other opposite side of mitochondrial membrane.
→ Electrons ultimately are drawn at end of chain to O2 , which is reduced to H2O
Electron Transport Chain
Protons at high concentration on outside of membrane flow through ATP Synthase along their gradient back to the matrix, providing the energy to phosphorylate ADP
Chemi-osmosis
Final energy production from aerobic respiration of one glucose molecule
30-32 ATP
In plants, lacking a circulatory system, each plant part independently undergoes gas exchange, whether it be by:
stoma (leaves) or lenticels (bark)
Tissues in a single plant may have different what?
energy balances
Different energy balances of plants:
Leaves: photosynthesis > respiration
* CO2/O2 gas exchange strikes a balance between the two processes
Roots: Respiration»_space;» photosynthesis
* O2 needed to respire carbohydrates imported from other parts of plant
Plants can tolerate much lower concentration of what?
O2
Current atmospheric levels of O2
20.95%
Plants can survive in _ oxygen without difficulty
- higher O2 levels are bad for plants due to photorespiration
2%
Humans can only tolerate (without supplementation) _ O2
19.5%
Roots of plants may experience what conditions during flooding?
anaerobic
Flooding conditions what?
s fills in the air spaces in soil, reducing oxygen levels to anaerobic levels, and preventing root hairs from taking in O2