Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-8bljj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-28T11:21:19.504Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 2 - Flow of energy and carbon through the plant: photosynthesis and respiration

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Helgi Öpik  and
Stephen A. Rolfe
Edited in consultation with
Arthur J. Willis
Helgi Öpik
Affiliation:
University of Wales, Swansea
Stephen A. Rolfe
Affiliation:
University of Sheffield
Arthur J. Willis
Affiliation:
University of Sheffield
Get access

Summary

Introduction

All living organisms need a supply of raw materials from which their bodies can be constructed, and a supply of energy. This energy is needed for growth, i.e. for the formation of their bodies, also for the maintenance of their bodies, and for all the various types of work, chemical and mechanical, that are carried out by living systems.

Life as we know it is based on organic compounds of carbon (C). This element accordingly occupies a central place among the raw materials and it is found on earth abundantly in its inorganic forms as carbon dioxide (CO2), carbonate (CO32 −) and bicarbonate (HCO3−). The ultimate energy source for most life forms on earth is the thermonuclear energy of the sun, transmitted to earth as electromagnetic radiation, light. Photosynthesis is the process by which the solar light energy is transformed into the chemical bond energy of organic carbon compounds. Photosynthesis is thus simultaneously a process of energy transduction, and a process by which inorganic carbon is converted to organic form and incorporated into living organisms. Chemically it is a reductive process. Respiration is the process of oxidative breakdown by which the energy stored in the organic products of photosynthesis is tapped for driving metabolism, for growth, for movements, and by which the C is returned to inorganic form again as CO2.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Physiology of Flowering Plants , pp. 9 - 59
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ainsworth, E. A., Davey, P. A., Hymus, G. J.et al. Is stimulation of leaf photosynthesis by elevated carbon dioxide concentrations maintained in the long term? A test with Lolium perenne for 10 years at two nitrogen fertilization levels under Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE). Plant, Cell and Environment, 26 (2003), 705–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowes, G.Facing the inevitable: plants and increasing atmospheric CO2. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology, 44 (1993), 309–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bryce, J. H. & Hill, S. A. Energy production in plant cells. In Plant Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2nd edn, ed. Lea, P. J. & Leegood, R. C.. Chichester: Wiley, 1999, pp. 1–28.Google Scholar
Bunce, J. A.Responses of respiration to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Physiologia Plantarum, 90 (1994), 427–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dennis, D. T., Huang, Y. Negm, F. B. Glycolysis, the pentose pathway and anaerobic respiration. In Plant Metabolism, 2nd edn, ed. Dennis, D. T., Turpin, D. H., Lefebvre, D. D.Layzell, D. B.. Harlow: Addison Wesley Longman, 1997, pp. 105–23.Google Scholar
Dodd, A. N., Borland, A. M., Haslam, R. P., Griffiths, H. & Maxwell, K.Crassulacean acid metabolism: plastic, fantastic. Journal of Experimental Botany, 53 (2002), 569–80.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Drake, B. G., Gonzàlez-Meler, M. A. & Long, S. P.More efficient plants: a consequence of rising atmospheric CO2. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology, 48 (1997), 609–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Drennan, P. M. & Nobel, P. S.Responses of CAM species to increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Plant, Cell and Environment, 23 (2000), 767–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ehleringer, J. R., Sage, R. F., Flanagan, L. B. & Pearcy, R. W.Climate change and the evolution of C4 photosynthesis. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 6 (1991), 95–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, D. O. & Rao, K. K.Photosynthesis, 5th edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994.Google Scholar
Hamilton, J. G., Thomas, R. B. & DeLucia, E. H.. Direct and indirect effects of elevated CO2 on leaf respiration in a forest ecosystem. Plant, Cell and Environment, 24 (2001) 975–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawlor, D. W.Photosynthesis, 2nd edn. Harlow: Longman, 1993.Google Scholar
Leegood, R. C., Sharkey, T. D. & Caemmerer, S.Photosynthesis, Physiology and Metabolism. Dordrecht: Kluwer, 2000.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mauseth, J. D. Plant Anatomy. Menlo Park, Benjamin/Cummings, 1988.
Mauseth, J. D.Botany: an Introduction to Plant Biology, 2nd edn. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett, 1998.Google Scholar
Nishio, J. N.Why are higher plants green? Evolution of the higher plant photosynthetic pigment complement. Plant, Cell and Environment, 23 (2000), 539–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norby, R. J., Kobayashi, K. & Kimball, B. A.Rising CO2 – future ecosystems. New Phytologist, 150 (2001), 215–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perata, P. & Alpi, A.Plant responses to anaerobiosis. Plant Science, 93 (1993), 1–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reiskind, J. B., Madsen, T. V., Ginkel, L. C. & Bowes, G.Evidence that inducible C4 photosynthesis is a chloroplastic CO2-concentrating mechanism in Hydrilla, a submerged monocot. Plant, Cell and Environment, 20 (1997), 211–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rolletschek, H., Borisjuk, L., Koschurreck, M., Wobus, U. & Weber, H.Legume embryos develop in a hypoxic environment. Journal of Experimental Botany, 53 (2002), 1099–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartley, G. E. & Scolnick, P. A. (1995). Plant carotenoids: pigments for photoprotection, visual attraction and human health. The Plant Cell, 7, 1027–38.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goodwin, T. W. & Mercer, E. I. (1972). Introduction to Plant Biochemistry. Oxford: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Grahl, A. & Wild, A. (1972). Die Variabilität der Gröβe der Photosyntheseeinheit bei Licht und Schattenpflanzen. Zeitschrift für Pflanzenphysiologie, 67, 443–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hatch, M. D. (1992). C4 photosynthesis: an unlikely process full of surprises. Plant and Cell Physiology, 33, 333–42.Google Scholar
Kirschbaum, M. U. F. (1994). The sensitivity of C3 photosynthesis to increasing CO2 concentration: a theoretical analysis of its dependence on temperature and background CO2 concentration. Plant, Cell and Environment, 17, 747–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ku, M. S. B., Agarie, S., Nomura, M.et al. (1999). High-level expression of maize phosphoenol pyruvate carboxylase in transgenic rice plants. Nature Biotechnology, 17, 76–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lambers, H. (1997). Oxidation of mitochondrial NADH and the synthesis of ATP. In Plant Metabolism, 2nd edn, ed. Dennis, D. T., Turpin, D. H., Lefebvre, D. D. & Layzell, D. B.. Harlow: Addison Wesley Longman, pp. 200–19.Google Scholar
McCree, K. J. (1972). The action spectrum, absorptance and quantum yield of photosynthesis in crop plants. Agricultural Meteorology, 9, 191–216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Öpik, H. (1980). The Respiration of Higher Plants. Studies in Biology, 120. London: Edward Arnold.Google Scholar
Sachs, M. M., Subbaiah, C. C. & Saab, I. N. (1996). Anaerobic gene expression and flooding tolerance in maize. Journal of Experimental Botany, 47, 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scheurwater, I., Cornelissen, C., Dictus, F., Welschen, R. & Lambers, H. (1998). Why do fast- and slow-growing grass species differ so little in their rate of root respiration, considering the large differences in rate of growth and ion uptake?Plant, Cell and Environment, 21, 995–1005.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spreitzer, R. J. & Salvucci, M. E. (2002). Rubisco: structure, regulatory interactions and possibilities for a better enzyme. Annual Review of Plant Biology, 53, 449–75.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Whitney, S. M., Caemmerer, S., Hudson, G. S. & Andrews, T. J. (1999). Directed mutation of the Rubisco large subunit of tobacco influences photorespiration and growth. Plant Physiology, 121, 579–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×