Purpose of the light reactions The Purpose of the Light Reactions: Unravelling Photosynthesis

The Purpose of the Light Reactions: Unravelling Photosynthesis

As a fundamental process of life on Earth, photosynthesis has been the subject of scientific investigation for centuries. The fundamental purpose of the light reactions of photosynthesis is to convert light energy into chemical energy in the form of ATP and NADPH, which can then be used in the subsequent Calvin cycle to produce organic molecules (Kumar et al., 2018). The light reactions are carried out by a series of proteins and pigments that absorb light energy and use it to drive the electron transport chain, resulting in the production of high-energy compounds (Van Zuylen et al., 2016). The light reactions are triggered when light absorbed by photosynthetic pigments such as chlorophyll, carotenoids and phycobilins excite electrons in the photosystems, resulting in the production of ATP and NADPH (Zhang et al., 2019). This is followed by a series of electron transfer pathways that ultimately reduce NADP+ to NADPH, thus providing the necessary energy to power the Calvin cycle (Kumar et al., 2018). As such, the light reactions are essential for providing the energy needed to produce organic molecules (Bashan et al., 2021). Cont….