Shiek Sultan Zayed H.

Mohametano
Veronica G. Nacaytuna
Photosynthesis, Biosynthesis & Fermentation

History
In 1648, Johan Baptist van Helmont considered water to be the source of life and the basic nutrient
for plants. He devised an experiment by which he showed that small potted willows can thrive on soil and
water alone while they gain their substance (weight) solely from the water as the weight of the soil in the
pots did not decrease significantly. In 1779, Jan Ingen-Housz demonstrated the green parts of the plant
could manufacture oxygen by the suns light and not its heat. He also proposed the idea that plants used CO2
while producing O2; and in 1881 a German botanist name Theodor Engelmann discovered that
photosynthesis occurs in the chloroplast.
Photosynthesis
Green plants, algae, and certain bacteria transform light energy (photons) to chemical energy stored
in the bonds of the sugar they make from carbon dioxide and water. Through photosynthesis, it produced
the oxygen man and all other aerobic microorganisms for cellular respiration. With an equation of,

Photosynthesis occurs on plants leaves. Their green color is from chlorophyll, a light-absorbing
pigment in the chloroplasts that plays a central role in converting solar energy to chemical energy.
Chloroplast is concentrated in the cells of the mesophyll, the green tissue in the interior of the leaf. Carbon
dioxide enters the leaf, and oxygen exits, by the way of tiny pores called stomata (singular, stoma, meaning
mouth). In the chloroplast, an envelop of two membranes encloses an inner compartment in the
chloroplasts, which is filled with a thick fluid called stroma. Suspended in the stroma is a system of
interconnected membranous sacs, called thylakoids, which encloses another compartment, called the
thylakoid space. Chlorophyll pigments harvest energy (photons) by absorbing certain wavelengths (blue-420
nm and red-660 nm are most important). Plants are green because the green wavelength is reflected, not
absorbed. However, some leaves are not green; it is because chloroplasts contain several pigments:
Chlorophyll a, Chlorophyll b and Carotenoids. Calvin cycle (see figure 1) also known as Carbon Fixation, is a
light independent reaction. The C3 plants comprise 80% of plants on earth. It occurs in the stroma of the leaf
and uses ATP and NADPH from light reactions, and uses CO2 to produce glucose which takes 6 turns and
uses 18 ATP and 12 NADPH. Figure 2 shows a diagram that depicts the summary of the chemical processes
of photosynthesis.

Figure 1. The diagram of Calvin cycle

Figure 2. Summary of chemical processes of photosynthesis

Biosynthesis
It is also called as anabolic pathways or biogenesis and is defined as: the production of a complex
chemical compound from simpler precursors in a living organism, usually involving enzymes (to catalyze the
reaction) and energy source such as ATP. It includes: Photosynthesis, Chemosynthesis, Amino Acid synthesis,
Nucleic Acid synthesis, ATP synthesis, and Krebs cycle.
Krebs cycle (see figure 3) is also known as tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) or citric acid cycle. It is a
series of chemical reactions used by all aerobic organisms to generate energy through the oxidation of
acetate derived from the carbohydrates, fats and proteins into carbon dioxide and chemical energy in the
form of Adenosine Triphosphate(ATP) as well as NADH.

Figure 3. Schematic Diagram of Krebs cycle

Junction Step for glycolysis and Krebs cycle: upon entering the mitochondrion via active transport,
pyruvate is first converted to a compound called acetyl CoA.
NAD+ NADH

CO2

HSCoA

H3C

SCoA

H3C

acetyl CoA

pyruvate dehydrogenase complex

O
pyruvate

There are 8 Reactions of TCA cycle: Citrate synthase, Aconitase, Iso-citrate dehydrogenase, a
ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, Succinyl-Coenzyme A synthetase, Succinate dehydrogenase, Fumerase and
Malate dehydrogenase. Step 1(Citrate Synthase Reaction), Acetyl CoA adds its two-carbon acetyl group to
oxaloacetate, producing citrate.
O

H3C

SCoA

O
C
C O
CH2
C
O

H2O

CoASH
HO

citrate synthase
O

acetyl CoA

C
O
CH2
C C O
CH2
C
O

oxaloacetate

citrate

Step 2 (Aconitase Reaction), Citrate is converted to its isomer, isocitrate, by removal of one water
molecule and addition of another.
O

C
CH2
C
C
CH2
C

HO

HO

aconitase

C
CH
HC C
CH2
C

citrate

isocitrate

Step 3 (Isocitrate Dehydrogenase), Isocitrate is oxidized, reducing NAD+ to NADH. Then the resulting
compound loses a CO2 molecule.
O
HO

C
CH
HC C
CH2
C

NAD

NADH

CO2

C
C O
CH2
CH2
C
O

isocitrate dehydrogenase

isocitrate

alpha ketoglutarate

Step 4 (-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase), Another CO2 is lost, and the resulting compound is
oxidized, reducing NAD+ to NADH. The remaining molecule is then attached to coenzyme A by an unstable
bond.
O

C
C O
CH2
CH2

SCoA

CoASH

CO2

NAD

NADH

C
O

alpha ketoglutarate

C
CH2
CH2
C
O

dehydrogenase
alpha ketoglutarate

succinyl CoA

Step 5 (Succinyl CoA synthetase), CoA is displaced by a phosphate group, which is transferred to
GDP, forming GTP, a molecule with functions similar to ATP.
SCoA

C
CH2
CH2
C
O

GDP

GTP

CoASH

CH2
C
O
O

succinyl CoA
synthetase

succinyl CoA

O
C
CH2

succinate

Step 6 (Succinate dehydrogenase), Two hydrogens are transferred to FAD, forming FADH2 and
oxidizing succinate.
O

O
C
CH2

FAD

CH2
C
O
O

C
C

FADH2
H

succinyl CoA

dehydrogenase

C
C

fumarate

succinate

Step 7 (Fumarase), Addition of water molecule rearranges bonds in the substrate.

O

H
O

C
C H
C
C

H2O

fumarase

fumarate

O
C
HC OH
CH2
C
O

malate

Step 8 (Malate Dehydrogenase), the substrate is oxidized, reducing NAD+ to NADH and regenerating
oxaloacetate. Products of the first turn of the cycle are: one GTP (or ATP), three NADH, one QH2 and two
CO2. Because two acetyl-CoA molecules are produced from each glucose molecule, two cycles are required
per glucose molecule. Therefore, at the end of two cycles, the products are: two GTP, six NADH,two QH2 and
four CO2. The total number of ATP obtained after complete oxidation of one glucose in glycolysis, citric acid
cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation is estimated to be between 30 and 38.

Fermentation
Fermentation is a metabolic process that converts sugar to acids, gases and/or alcohol. It occurs
in yeast and bacteria. And also occur in muscle cells (Lactic acid fermentation). Fermentation takes place in
the absence of oxygen, when the electron transport chain is unusable. It is the complete pathway, including
Glycolysis and the re-oxidation of NADH. There are two types of fermentation Lactic Acid Fermentation and
Alcoholic Fermentation (see figure 5). Despite the many methods bacteria employ to ferment organic
compounds, there are some unifying concepts that are true of all fermentations. These are:
NAD+ is almost always reduced to NADH. Electrons are removed from the carbon denoted in red
(see figure 4) and donated to NAD+. An inorganic phosphate is attached to the carbon

Figure 4. Reduction of NAD+ to NADH

Fermentation results in a excess of NADH. Accumulation of NADH causes a problem for anaerobes.
They have too much of it and it prevents further oxidation of substrate due to a lack of an NAD + pool to
accept electrons. In many fermentation pathways, the steps after energy generation are performed in part
to get rid of the NADH.
Pyruvate is often an important intermediate. It is a valuable intermediate because it can be used
for cell synthesis and many different enzymes can act on it. It gives the microbe flexibility.
Energy is derived from Substrate-Level Phosphorylation (SLP). The substrate is converted to a
phosphorylated compound and in subsequent reactions the high energy phosphate is transferred to ATP.
Energy yields are low. SLP is an inefficient process and much of the energy of the electrons is lost.
Typically energy yields are 1-4 ATP per substrate molecule fermented.
Oxygen is not involved. Fermentation can involve any molecule that can undergo oxidation. Typical
substrates include sugars (such as glucose) and amino acids. Products typically depend upon the substrate
but can include organic acids (lactic acid, acetic acid), alcohols (ethanol, methanol, butanol), ketones
(acetone) and gases (H2 and CO2)

Figure 5. The schematic diagram of Alcohol Fermentation and Lactic Acid Fermentation