Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis Pho`to*syn"the*sis, n. (Plant Physiol.) 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. -- {Pho`to*syn*thet"ic}, a. -- {Pho`to*syn*thet"ic*al*ly}, adv. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • photosynthesis — photosynthesis. См. фотосинтез. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • photosynthesis — 1898, loan translation of Ger. Photosynthese, from photo light + synthese synthesis. Another early word for it was photosyntax …   Etymology dictionary

  • photosynthesis —  Photosynthesis  Фотосинтез   Процесс образования органического вещества из углекислого газа и воды на свету при участии фотосинтетических пигментов (хлорофилл у растений, бактериохлорофилл и бактериородопсин у бактерий). В современной физиологии …   Толковый англо-русский словарь по нанотехнологии. - М.

  • photosynthesis — ► NOUN ▪ the process by which green plants use sunlight to synthesize nutrients from carbon dioxide and water. DERIVATIVES photosynthesize (also photosynthesise) verb photosynthetic adjective …   English terms dictionary

  • photosynthesis — [fōt΄ō sin′thə sis] n. [ModL: see PHOTO & SYNTHESIS] 1. the biological synthesis of chemical compounds in the presence of light 2. the production of organic substances, chiefly sugars, from carbon dioxide and water occurring in green plant cells… …   English World dictionary

  • Photosynthesis — Composite image showing the global distribution of photosynthesis, including both oceanic phytoplankton and vegetation …   Wikipedia

  • photosynthesis — photosynthetic /foh teuh sin thet ik/, adj. photosynthetically, adv. /foh teuh sin theuh sis/, n. Biol., Biochem. (esp. in plants) the synthesis of complex organic materials, esp. carbohydrates, from carbon dioxide, water, and inorganic salts,… …   Universalium

  • photosynthesis — Process by which green plants, algae, and some bacteria absorb light energy and use it to synthesize organic compounds (initially carbohydrates). In green plants, occurs in chloroplasts, that contain the photosynthetic pigments. Occurs by… …   Dictionary of molecular biology

  • photosynthesis — 1. The compounding or building up of chemical substances under the influence of light. 2. The process by which green plants, using chlorophyll and the energy of sunlight, produce carbohydrates from water and carbon dioxide, liberating mole …   Medical dictionary

  • photosynthesis — [[t]f ouθoʊsɪ̱nθəsɪs[/t]] N UNCOUNT Photosynthesis is the way that green plants make their food using sunlight. [TECHNICAL] …   English dictionary

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