Download PDF MOLECULAR TO GLOBAL PHOTOSYNTHESIS by Mary D. Archer

Sinopsis

The word photosynthesis means ‘building up by light’, and the process is the building up, by plants, algae and certain bacteria under the action of sunlight, of organic compounds (mainly carbohydrates) from two very simple inorganic molecules, water (HzO) and carbon dioxide ((202). Put another way, photosynthesis is the light-driven reduction of atmospheric carbon dioxide by water to energy-rich organic compounds. But this reductionist, chemist’s view gives little hint of the central role of photosynthesis in sustaining life on Earth. Photosynthesis is the primary engine of the biosphere, essential to life since it is almost the sole process by which the chemical energy to maintain living organisms is made. It provides all our food, either directly in the form of green plants or indirectly in the form of animals that eat green plants or other animals that have eaten green plants. The only living organisms not sustained directly or indirectly by photosynthesis are the chemoautotrophs, primitive bacteria that harness the energy of inorganic compounds such as H2S to obtain the metabolic energy they need to grow and replicate, and the organisms that feed off them. Humans and other animals are heterotrophs-they ey cannot synthesise their own organic compounds from inorganic sources, but must ingest them as food. Photosynthetic organisms are photoautotrophs-able to harness solar energy to fix C02 (that is, store it in solid form as products of photosynthesis). Modern photosynthetic organisms come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, ranging from the 1-1Opn-1-sized photosynthetic bacteria and small, nonvascular mosses to giant sequoia trees that can reach more than 100 m in height.

Content

1. Photosynthesis and photoconversion
2. Light absorption and harvesting
3. Electron transfer in photosynthesis
4. Photosynthetic carbon assimilation
5. Regulation of photosynthesis in higher plants
6. The role of aquatic photosynthesis in solar energy conversion: a geoevolutionary perspective
7. Useful products from algal photosynthesis
8. Hydrogen production by photosynthetic microorganisms
9. Photoconversion and energy crops
10. The production of biofuels by thermal chemical processing of biomass
11. Photosynthesis and the global carbon cycle
12. Management of terrestrial vegetation to mitigate climate change
13. Biotechnology: its impact and future prospects

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