Respiration Vs PhotosynthesisEssay Preview: Respiration Vs PhotosynthesisReport this essayJust as a lion must hunt his prey for energy, a cell must also carry out several functions in order to synthesize energy. Plant cells go through photosynthesis while most eukaryotic cells go through respiration. Though it may not seem significant on a macroscopic level, it is certainly paramount to the survival of all living things. Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) is a phosphoralized nucleotide that is used as a means for cells to store energy for later use. Although the structure itself is not much different than RNA, it is when its bonds are broken that a significant amount of energy is released for a cell to use as fuel.
In order to synthesize ATP, an animal cell will go through a process known as cellular respiration. In the initiating stage of respiration, a glucose molecule is broken down and isomerizes several time until it becomes 2 pyruvate molecules in a process known as glycolysis. Since the bonds in glucose are not easily broken, the energy released when torn apart is used to create a small amount of ATP. After the pyruvate has been created, it goes on to the mitochondria where it is broken down even more and forms carbon dioxide and water in the aerobic Krebs cycle. After proceeding through the Krebs cycle, it creates more ATP, but not enough for significant functionality. What remains of the pyruvate, reduced coenzymes, enters a group of proteins that carry electrons through several redox reactions in the mitochondrions membrane known as the electron transport chain. These proteins create a concentration gradient along the membrane by passing electrons from the coenzymes formed in the Krebs cycle. The energy given off is then used to pump ionized hydrogen atoms out to the mitochondrias inter-membrane, making the outside more positive than the inside. This allows for a current of charged hydrogen to pass across the membrane through a complex known as ATP Synthase. Through the process of chemiosmosis, ATP is produced as the protons move down the mitochondrial membrane through the ATP Synthase. The result is a large amount of ATP that allows the cell to carry out vital functions.
Most of cell respiration occurs in the mitochondria, but organism without one, like plants, must create ATP through alternate means. Photosynthesis takes place in the chloroplast, which, like the mitochondria, is composed of a double layered membrane important for the creation of ATP. Within the chloroplast are sacs used to absorb light for energy known as thylakoids. What makes this possible are light absorbing pigments within the thylakoid known as photosystems. Like the electron transport chain found in the mitochondria, the thylakoid membrane contains proteins used to move electrons across it, with some containing chlorophyll. Chlorophyll (a), a chlorophyll molecule capable of passing electrons to other molecules, plays a key role in the plant cell cycle of producing ATP due to its ability to reach an excited state when in contact
The mitochondria are located at the base of the thylakoid membrane. A complete cell is composed of these six functional pores. The mitochondria are composed of nine (0.4 to 1–4) chlorophyll genes associated with three known regions of the thylakoid family. These genes, however, require cell respiration to begin. When respiration occurs in the mitochondria, ATP is absorbed through the thylakoid membrane, at the base of the thylakoid membrane.
Although chlorophyll and photosystems are involved in cell building and life, there has been a recent push to create new cell types to make up the new tissue. This comes as a major surprise to a large number of cancer patients who were taking part in the research. The initial results of this study, based on an analysis of cell respiration data from 13 patients with prostate cancer, suggest that the ability to repair the disease with photosystems and chlorophyll could be the foundation for new cancer types and their treatment.
This was also the first study to evaluate cell-specific respiration via two different approaches: directly using chitosan of pigments as the source, and using a technique named micro-clamp on light emitting diodes (LEDs), which were generated from different sources and used to generate the photosystems.
The authors of this new study believe this is the first application of these technologies in cancer cells. They believe the improved cell respiration of these cells will allow cell biologists to focus on how their cells function by identifying changes caused by other factors including cell membrane and thylakoid membrane interactions.
The study of this group was limited to the 10 patients who received cells from both an indirect and direct process. The direct process involved chitosan of pigments (also called red, green, and blue chlorophyll) and a method commonly used by the chemotherapies group to remove the chemical debris. These methods are often used to remove cancer or damage the cytoskeleton which is the basis of bone cell division in certain cancer cells. The primary goal of this study was to address this potential.
After extensive study, the group of 23 melanoma patients was contacted and the first study to evaluate their levels of photosynthesis and respiration was undertaken in two different ways. The first time they received the chitosan method was with the primary patient in the early stages of the condition. All four patients were healthy controls with at least 6 years between bouts of acute disease (i.e., chronic), and the second time they received the method was to evaluate their body temperature.
The authors found that the rate of respiration in their patients, in both the indirect and direct pathways, decreased approximately 2-9 times as much as the primary patient, suggesting at least a 5-fold increase in the rate of cell respiration. The primary patient with high blood pressure also had a significant decrease in cell respiration; both groups had decreased rates of respiration in the indirect pathway while the primary patient had decreased rates of respiration in the direct pathway. This suggests a clear need for increased use of this technique in cancer cells from both endocrine, cellular and vascular therapies.
The authors have developed a