Understanding Photosynthesis: Process, Types, and Importance

KOMPAS.com – Photosynthesis is the process carried out by plants, algae, and some types of bacteria in converting sunlight into energy.

They capture energy from sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into food (sugar) and oxygen.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, photosynthesis is the process by which green plants and certain other organisms convert light energy into chemical energy.

During photosynthesis in green plants, light energy is captured and used to convert water, carbon dioxide, and minerals into oxygen and energy-rich organic compounds.

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Plants take carbon dioxide and water from the air and soil. In plant cells, water is then oxidized while carbon dioxide is reduced.

This process then turns water into oxygen and carbon dioxide into glucose. Plants then release oxygen back into the air, and store energy in glucose molecules.

There are two types of photosynthesis namely oxygenic and anoxygenic.

What is oxygenic photosynthesis?

The process of oxygenic photosynthesis when solar energy is converted into chemical energy, sustains life on earth and is the main producer of oxygen and organic matter on earth.

Reporting from the Live Science page, during oxygenic photosynthesis, light energy transfers electrons from water taken up by plant roots to carbon dioxide to produce carbohydrates.

In this transfer, carbon dioxide is “reduced,” or accepts electrons, and water is “oxidized,” or loses electrons. Oxygen is produced together with carbohydrates.

This process creates a balance on Earth, in which carbon dioxide produced by breathing organisms when they consume oxygen in respiration is converted back into oxygen by plants, algae, and bacteria.

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What is anoxygenic photosynthesis?

Anoxygenic photosynthesis refers to the bacterial photosynthetic process that occurs under anaerobic conditions, using inorganic molecules as a source of electrons in addition to carbon dioxide.

Anoxygenic photosynthesis uses an electron donor instead of water and the process does not produce oxygen.

It occurs in green and nonsulfur sulfur bacteria, phototrophic purple bacteria, heliobacteria, and acidobacteria.

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Anoxygenic phototrophs possess a photosynthetic pigment called bacteriochlorophyll, similar to the chlorophyll found in eukaryotes.

Unlike oxygenic phototrophs, anoxygenic photosynthesis functions using only one of two possible types of photosystems.

This limits them to a cyclic flow of electrons, because of which they cannot produce oxygen from the oxidation of carbon dioxide.

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2023-07-20 00:45:00
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