MadSci Network: Cell Biology
Query:

Re: How does the concentration of acid affect the rate of photosynthesis?

Date: Mon Nov 13 21:59:14 2000
Posted By: David Barker, Grad student, Organic Chemistry, University of Sydney
Area of science: Cell Biology
ID: 962951012.Cb
Message:

Ok a toughy, I had to look far and wide for an answer to this one but here's what I came up with.

I found a couple of reasones why sulphuric acid might affect the growth and photosynthesis in plants. One is that Sulpher dioxide, which is the gas that forms sulphuric acid, can react with the enzymes involved in photosynthesis and irreversibly destroy them. This in turn leads to a big decrease in the photosynthesis. Now the concentration of sulpher dioxide gas is sulphuric acid is small but may be enough to slow the overall rate of photosynthesis.

Another study I found was one on the effect of pH on photosynthesis, which is really the effect of acid on photosynthesis.You can find the study at this link.

Now what it states is that that lowering the pH or by having more acid in the water effects chlorophyll molecules, which are very important to photosynthesis, by altering them so they can no longer participate in the correct reactions they need to perform. Also that high acid concentrations effect other enzymes which lead to overall reduction in photosynthesis.

well I hope this helps

David Barker


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