Seaweed photosynthesis
Apr 12th, 2008 by Andy
Photosynthesis is define as the mechanism by all chlorophyll containing (autotrophic) plants convert sunlight into chemical energy. Virtually all the energy availble for consumers of plant material originates from the process of photosynthesis. The chemistry of photosynthesis is more obvious in the form of chemical equations. The generalised equation for phtosynthesis is:
The formula CH2O indicates the generalised equation for a carbohydrate.Photosynthesis is a complex reation dependendent upon chlorophyll. As light enters the chlorophyll molecule it stimulates the production of an electron from an oxide of water, this then converts ADP into NADPH which then charges the Calvin Cycle leading to the formation of phosphoglyceric acid and then the creation of carbohydrate.
To aid in the photosynthetic process seaweeds contain different pigments which are responsible for creating the different colours which are so obvious. The pigment composition is shown in the table below:
Phylum - Pigment
Chlorophyta - Chlorophyll b
Phaeophyta - Chlorophyll c1 + c2 and Fucoxanthin
Rhodophyta - Phycoerythrin and phycocyanin
you rock man seaweed is da bomb