(The structural features of the chloroplast that participate in photosynthesis will be explored in more detail later in The Light-Dependent Reactions of Photosynthesis and Using Light Energy to Make Organic Molecules.) Although photosynthesis and cellular respiration evolved as independent processes-with photosynthesis creating an oxidizing atmosphere early in Earth’s history-today they are interdependent. In eukaryotes, the reactions of photosynthesis occur in chloroplasts in prokaryotes, such as cyanobacteria, the reactions are less localized and occur within membranes and in the cytoplasm. Photosynthesis is a process where components of water and carbon dioxide are used to assemble carbohydrate molecules and where oxygen waste products are released into the atmosphere. They require the presence of chlorophyll, a specialized pigment that absorbs certain wavelengths of the visible light spectrum to harness free energy from the sun. Examples of photoautotrophs include plants, algae, some unicellular eukaryotes, and cyanobacteria. Although all organisms carry out some form of cellular respiration, only certain organisms, called photoautotrophs, can perform photosynthesis. Photosynthesis allows organisms to access enormous amounts of free energy from the sun and transform it to the chemical energy of sugars. Organisms use various strategies to capture, store, transform, and transfer free energy, including photosynthesis. What are the substrates and products of photosynthesis?Īs we learned in Chapter 7, all living organisms, from simple bacteria to complex plants and animals, require free energy to carry out cellular processes, such as growth and reproduction.What are the main cellular structures involved in photosynthesis?.What is the relevance of photosynthesis to living organisms?.In this section, you will explore the following questions:
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