BIOL 205 Chapter Notes - Chapter 14: Ribulose, Rubisco, Carbon Fixation
Document Summary
Chapter 14: when the 1st photosystem (photosystem 2) absorbs light energy, its reaction center passes electrons to a mobile electron carrier called plastoquinone which is part of the photosynthetic electron transport chain. The carrier transfer eh high energy electronsto a proton pump which uses the movement of electrons to generate an electrochemical proton gradient. The electrochemical proton gradient then drives the production of atp by atp synthase located in the thylakoid membrane: at the same time, photosystem i (second photosystem) is capturing energy from sunlight. To reset the system and allow photosynthesis to proceed- the missing electron must be replaced. In photosystem ii, the missing electron is replaced by a special protein complex that removes the electrons from water. This is called the water splitting enzyme. Contains a cluster of manganese atoms that hold onto two water molecules from which electrons are extracted one at a time.
