Question Video: Explaining the Uses of PGAL in Plant Cells | Nagwa Question Video: Explaining the Uses of PGAL in Plant Cells | Nagwa

Question Video: Explaining the Uses of PGAL in Plant Cells Biology • Second Year of Secondary School

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Melvin Calvin investigated photosynthesis in algae. He determined that, in the process, a 3-carbon compound was formed. What are the carbon atoms of this compound used for in plant cells? [A] To help synthesize other key elements such as oxygen, hydrogen, and calcium. [B] To be used as a reactant in chemosynthesis. [C] To act as cell signaling molecules. [D] to synthesize key biological molecules such as glucose, starch, proteins, and fats.

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Video Transcript

Melvin Calvin investigated photosynthesis in algae. He determined that, in the process, a three-carbon compound was formed. What are the carbon atoms of this compound used for in plant cells? (A) To help synthesize other key elements such as oxygen, hydrogen, and calcium. (B) To be used as a reactant in chemosynthesis. (C) To act as cell signaling molecules. Or (D) to synthesize key biological molecules such as glucose, starch, proteins, and fats.

Melvin Calvin was an American biochemist who studied photosynthesis in the 1940s. It was his work on green algae that led to the development of the Calvin cycle, the sequence of chemical reactions which summarized the light-independent stage of photosynthesis that happens in all photosynthetic organisms, including plants. One of the key compounds that’s made during the carbon cycle is phosphoglyceraldehyde. Phosphoglyceraldehyde, or PGAL for short, is a three-carbon compound as you can see from the diagram of its chemical structure.

Once PGAL has been made, its carbon atoms are used to synthesize other organic compounds, which are vital for the growth and survival of plants. They can synthesize glucose, which is primarily used for cellular respiration to release energy. They can produce starch, which is a molecule used by plants to store energy. They can be used to synthesize proteins, which act as structural components and catalyze chemical reactions. And finally, they can make fats, which are stored in pollen grains and seeds.

We have therefore determined that the correct answer to the question is (D). The carbon atoms of the three-carbon compound that’s formed during photosynthesis are used to synthesize key biological molecules such as glucose, starch, proteins, and fats.

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