Photosynthesis vs. Photorespiration — What's the Difference?

Converts solar energy into glucose, storing chemical energy.

May help mitigate photooxidative damage.

Produces oxygen as a byproduct, essential for life.

Consumes oxygen, releasing CO2, opposite to photosynthesis.

Takes place in the chlorophyll-containing chloroplasts.

Uses energy without producing ATP or glucose.

Requires light, with efficiency varying by intensity.

Occurs across mitochondria, chloroplasts, and peroxisomes.

Varies with environmental factors like CO2 and water.

Elevated oxygen levels increase photorespiration.

Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's metabolic activities. This chemical energy is stored in carbohydrate molecules, such as sugars and starches, which are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water – hence the name photosynthesis, from the Greek phōs (φῶς), "light", and sunthesis (σύνθεσις), "putting together".

Photorespiration (also known as the oxidative photosynthetic carbon cycle, or C2 photosynthesis) refers to a process in plant metabolism where the enzyme RuBisCO oxygenates RuBP, wasting some of the energy produced by photosynthesis. The desired reaction is the addition of carbon dioxide to RuBP (carboxylation), a key step in the Calvin–Benson cycle, but approximately 25% of reactions by RuBisCO instead add oxygen to RuBP (oxygenation), creating a product that cannot be used within the Calvin–Benson cycle.

The process in green plants and certain other organisms by which carbohydrates are synthesized from carbon dioxide and a source of hydrogen (usually water), using light as an energy source. Most forms of photosynthesis release oxygen as a byproduct.

Oxidation of carbohydrates in plants with the release of carbon dioxide during photosynthesis.

(biology) Any process by which plants and other photoautotrophs convert light energy into chemical energy,

(biology) The light-dependent release of carbon dioxide and uptake of oxygen in photosynthetic organisms as an unavoidable side reaction of photosynthesis.

Principally, oxygenic photosynthesis, any process by which plants and algae convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and waste oxygen using solar energy.

Also, non-oxygenic photosynthesis, used by purple and green bacteria, heliobacteria, and acidobacteria.

The process of constructive metabolism by which carbohydrates are formed from water vapor and the carbon dioxide of the air in the chlorophyll-containing tissues of plants exposed to the action of light. It was formerly called assimilation, but this is now commonly used as in animal physiology. The details of the process are not yet clearly known. Baeyer's theory is that the carbon dioxide is reduced to carbon monoxide, which, uniting with the hydrogen of the water in the cell, produces formaldehyde, the latter forming various sugars through polymerization. Vines suggests that the carbohydrates are secretion products of the chloroplasts, derived from decomposition of previously formed proteids. The food substances are usually quickly translocated, those that accumulate being changed to starch, which appears in the cells almost simultaneously with the sugars. The chloroplasts perform photosynthesis only in light and within a certain range of temperature, varying according to climate. This is the only way in which a plant is able to organize carbohydrates. All plants without a chlorophyll apparatus, as the fungi, must be parasitic or saprophytic.

Synthesis of compounds with the aid of radiant energy (especially in plants)

Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize nutrients from carbon dioxide and water, producing oxygen as a byproduct.

Yes, the rate of photorespiration can be reduced by increasing carbon dioxide concentration around the leaves or by genetically engineering plants to bypass the photorespiratory pathway.

Photorespiration is a process in plants where oxygen is consumed and carbon dioxide is released, using up energy and sugars, often considered a wasteful counterprocess to photosynthesis.

Photorespiration is considered inefficient because it consumes oxygen and organic compounds, releasing carbon dioxide without producing ATP or glucose, thus reducing the efficiency of photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis is positively influenced by factors like light intensity and carbon dioxide concentration, while photorespiration increases under high oxygen conditions, often due to high light intensities that enhance the splitting of water in photosynthesis.

While often seen as wasteful, photorespiration may play roles in protecting plants from photooxidative damage and recycling metabolites, although these benefits do not outweigh its cost in terms of reduced photosynthetic efficiency.

Photosynthesis produces energy and sugars necessary for plant growth, whereas photorespiration consumes energy and sugars, reducing the plant's net photosynthetic productivity.

In hot, dry conditions, plants close their stomata to conserve water, which reduces carbon dioxide intake and increases oxygen concentration inside leaves, thereby promoting photorespiration.

Research is focusing on increasing photosynthetic efficiency through genetic engineering, such as altering the RuBisCO enzyme to reduce photorespiration or introducing more efficient photosynthetic pathways from other organisms.

Photosynthesis is crucial for the Earth's carbon cycle, converting carbon dioxide into oxygen, which is essential for the survival of most life forms, and providing the foundation for the planet's food chain.