The transfer of substances containing carbon between organisms

and the environment.

Organisms obtain and lose carbon during the carbon cycle and it is
essential that carbon is recycled for there to be a flow of nutrients in an
ecosystem. The carbon cycle starts with CO2 in the atmosphere and dissolved
in oceans, and is absorbed by plants as they carry out photosynthesis and
use carbon to make compounds such as glucose. These plants are then
consumed by animals to make other carbon-containing compounds. When
these plants and animals die, they decompose with the aid of saprobiotic
microorganisms which respire and release CO2 back into the atmosphere. If
plants and animals are not destroyed by decay, they can be combusted
using fossil fuels such as coal and CO2 is released back into the atmosphere
through this. Once CO2 is back in the atmosphere, the cycle can repeat itself.
As I said previously, substances containing carbon are transferred
during photosynthesis and respiration as part of the carbon cycle.
Photosynthesis is the process where energy from light is used to make
glucose from water and CO2. Photosynthesis takes place in the chloroplasts
of plant cells and begins with the light-dependent reaction which takes place
in the thylakoid membranes of the chloroplasts. Here, light energy is
absorbed and used to excite a pair of electrons on a chlorophyll molecule
which raises the energy level of these electrons. These are then passed
along a chain of electron carrier molecules in a series of redox reactions and
the energy lost at each stage of the chain is used to combine ADP and an
inorganic phosphate to form ATP. The light energy is also used to reduce
NADP to form NADPH as water photolysis occurs. The second stage of
photosynthesis is the light-independent reaction also known as the Calvin
cycle; this takes places in the stroma of the chloroplasts. CO2 enters the leaf
through the stomata and diffuses into the stroma of the chloroplasts. Here, it
is combined with RuBP, a 5-carbon compound using an enzyme called
rubisco. This gives an unstable 6-carbon compound which quickly breaks
down into two molecules of a 3-carbon compound called glycerate 3phosphate. Now, ATP from the light-dependent reaction provided energy to
turn GP into triose-phosphate. This also requires H+ ions from NADPH. NADPH
is therefore recycled to NADP. TP is then converted into useful organic
compounds such as glucose using one of every six molecules of TP produced
in the cycle. The rest are used to regenerate RuBP to continue the cycle.

There are four stages of aerobic respiration; glycolysis, the link

reaction, the Krebs cycle and oxidative phosphorylation. Glycolysis involves
the splitting of one molecule of glucose into two molecule of pyruvate, a 3carbon compound. The link reaction converts pyruvate to acetyl coenzyme A.
One carbon atom is removed from pyruvate in the form of CO2 and NAD is
reduced, changing the pyruvate to acetate. Acetate is then combined with
coenzyme A to form acetyl coenzyme A. The Krebs cycle involves a serious of
redox reactions. Acetyl CoA combines with a four carbon compound to form a
6 carbon compound. The 6 carbon compound is then converted into a 5
carbon compound as decarboxylation and dehydrogenation occur. The 5
carbon compound is then converted to a 4 carbon compound by the same
decarboxylation and dehydrogenation process. The Krebs cycle produced
reduces coenzymes and ATP. Finally, oxidative phosphorylation is the process
where energy carried by electrons from reduced coenzymes is used to make
lots of ATP.
Carbon containing substances are also transferred during digestion.
Digestion breaks down large molecules into small molecules, carbohydrates
and proteins being an example. Carbohydrates are broken down into
monosaccharides and they are made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen and
proteins are broken down into amino acids they contain carbon, hydrogen,
oxygen and nitrogen. Digestive enzymes which are released by the intestinal
epithelium are divided into three classes: carbohydrases catalyse the
hydrolysis of carbohydrates; proteases catalyse the hydrolysis of proteins;
and lipases catalyse the hydrolysis of lipid. In order to survive and carry out
their functions, cells need to take in substances like glucose and oxygen and
get rid of substances like urea and CO2. The plasma membrane controls what
substances enter or leave cells. Larger molecules such as amino acids cant
diffuse directly through the phospholipid bilayer of the cell membrane.
Instead they diffuse through carrier proteins in the cell membrane using
facilitated diffusion, which moves the molecules through the membrane
down a concentration gradient. The products of carbohydrate digestion are
absorbed in different ways. Some glucose diffuses across the intestinal
epithelium into the blood down a concentration gradient. When the
concentration in the lumen becomes lower than in the blood, the diffusion
stops. The remaining glucose is absorbed by active transport.
In conclusion, the transfer of carbon and carbon containing substances
is extremely important to the life of organisms and without this ongoing
cycle of transfers, organisms would die.