Video Transcript
The glucose made in photosynthesis
is converted into a different sugar to be moved around the plant in
translocation. What sugar is glucose converted
into?
Let’s start by discussing a few key
terms. Photosynthesis is the process by
which organisms, like green plants, convert carbon dioxide and water into sugars,
like glucose, and oxygen in the presence of light energy. Glucose is a sugar that can be used
in cellular respiration to release energy. Translocation is the process by
which materials in the plant are moved from where they’re made, the source, to where
they’re needed, the sink. The prefix trans- means across,
referring to the directional movement of substances, and the suffix -location refers
to the places they are moved from and to.
Before we discuss the sugar into
which glucose is converted, let’s discuss why glucose needs to be moved and then why
it needs to be converted into another form. Glucose is needed in all plant
cells for them to release energy to carry out important life processes, such as
growth and division. As it is produced in photosynthetic
cells and not all plant cells are photosynthetic, it needs to be moved or
translocated to those nonphotosynthetic cells. Glucose needs to be converted into
another sugar to avoid reacting with oxygen in aerobic respiration while being
moved. Otherwise, glucose might not reach
its destination where it is needed.
Let’s now return to the question to
find out which sugar glucose is converted into. Glucose combines with another sugar
called fructose to make a sugar called sucrose. Sucrose can be translocated because
it is a nonreducing sugar. Nonreducing means that it does not
react with oxygen during aerobic respiration while being transported. So, the answer to the question is
that glucose is converted into a sugar called sucrose to be moved around the plant
in translocation.
