Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is the process which converts light energy into chemical energy.

Photosynthesis has a light-dependent phase and a light-independent (dark) phase. In higher plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, light energy is absorbed in the light-dependent phase by the pigment chlorophyll and used to split water to generate short-term stores of chemical energy – adenosine triphosphate ATP – and reducing potential in the form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate NADPH with the net production of O2. During the dark phase this chemical energy and reducing potential are converted to synthesize organic matter from atmospheric CO2 in the form of carbohydrates or sugars through the metabolic pathway called Calvin-Benson cycle. The whole process is what is called oxygenic photosynthesis.

The O2k-PB-Module integrates white, blue or red light sources with tightly controllable light intensities. The O2k-PB-Module enables evaluation of the light-dependent net production of O2 and light-enhanced dark respiration under controlled O2 concentrations. The O2k-PB-Module extends high-resolution respirometry to advance state-of-the-art PhotoBiology.

Meet the expert

Erich Gnaiger, PhD
Founder, CEO, Innovation Alchemist

O2k-Products

Light-dependent net production of O2 and light-enhanced dark respiration can be measured with the following O2k-Products:

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Bioblast"" resources

References

Went N, Di Marcello M, Gnaiger E (2021) Oxygen dependence of photosynthesis and light-enhanced dark respiration studied by High-Resolution PhotoRespirometry. MitoFit Preprints 2021.5. https://doi.org/10.26124/mitofit:2021-0005

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