Karishma's Blog Post #6

After growing for six months, our plant has grown exponentially. The majority of the mass that the plants gained comes from carbon.  During the process of photosynthesis, plants also gain carbon dioxide. They take energy from the sun, water, and carbon dioxide. They use all these nutrients to convert into glucose and oxygen. When the sunlight hits the chloroplasts, it activates an enzyme that causes water molecules to break apart. Due to this, the hydrogen ions and free electrons convert NADP+ to NADPH which is used during light-independent reactions. During light-independent reactions, plants build up sugar from carbon dioxide and products from light-dependent reactions (ATP and NADPH) More glucose can also come from ATP since ATP assists the plants in making more glucose.

Plants also utilize cellular respiration. The plants obtain some of their carbon from animal cellular respiration. Animals take in oxygen and sugar that is made when plants undergo photosynthesis and convert it into carbon dioxide along with energy (ATP) and water. Cellular respiration occurs in the mitochondrion of the cell. During cellular respiration, plants fix carbon dioxide. They also break down sugar into usable energy for the cell (ATP). Cellular respiration occurs when light is scarce.

This all helps the plant grow in biomass. From both, cellular respiration and photosynthesis, plants can take in and use carbon dioxide that would contribute to the increase of biomass in plants. Additionally, plant cells divide (cell division). During cell division, the cell will start to duplicate the genetic material when chromosomes attach to each other to form sister chromosomes. During metaphase, these chromosomes will line up along the equator of the cell. In anaphase, the chromatids start to split apart and move to different poles. Afterward, the cell goes through telophase and cytokinesis. Here the two cells pinch together and two daughter cells are formed. This process of mitosis occurs millions of times inside one living organism. As an organism gains new cells, its mass would grow.

When the plant is in need, it can easily make necessary enzymes. Enzymes are a certain type of protein that catalyzed chemical reactions. Since enzymes are proteins, they are made in the same way as proteins. Therefore, it is the same exact process. Once the signal is sent to the nucleus that the cell is in need of the certain enzyme, the DNA code for that specific enzyme gets copied by RNA polymerase. The messenger RNA (mRNA) leaves the nucleus of the cell and enters the cytoplasm. Here it comes into contact with the ribosomes. The ribosomes attach to the RNA and read each codon (three nucleotide bases) in order to select the necessary amino acid. Additionally, tRNA attaches itself to each codon before it goes through the ribosomes in order to ensure the RNA to confirm it is choosing the correct amino acids.  Once the stop codon is reached in the RNA, the amino acid is formed and the amino acid goes on to construct the protein that the amino acid is being coded for. That is how enzymes would be made in the plant.