Preface

Two lessons I have learned during my research career are the importance of following up unexpected observations and realizing that the most obvious interpretation of such observa‐ tions can be rational but wrong. When you carry out an experiment there is usually an ex‐ pectation that the result will fall within a range of predictable outcomes, and it is natural to feel pleased when this turns out to be the case. In my view this response is a mistake. What you should be hoping for is a puzzling result that was not anticipated since with persistence and luck further experiments may uncover something new.

Ellis R. J. (2005). **From chloroplasts to chaperones: how one thing led to another.** Govindjee, J. T. Beatty, H. Gest and J.F. Allen (eds.): *Discoveries in Photosynthesis,* pp. 745–755.

First, we would like to thank our readers and let them know how happy we are that this book has been published.

The book is a compilation of basic knowledge about photosynthesis. Section 1 deals with the basics of photosynthesis and starts with Chapter 1, which is a brief description of the evolu‐ tion of photosynthesis, followed by Chapter 2, which is a concise description on the photo‐ synthetic process.

Section 2 discusses the effects of light, nutrients, and cultivation on the photosynthetic proc‐ ess, giving an example in each case. In this sense, Chapter 3 looks at the effects of pulsed irradiation-based LEDs on the growth and photosynthetic light utilization efficiency of let‐ tuce leaves. Because the most important environmental factor for plants is light, Chapter 4 discusses light-capturing pigments, using subtropical plants as an example. Chapter 5 dis‐ cusses the effect of cultivation in photobioreactors, which are reactors designed for micro‐ scopic photosynthetic organisms and are also used for the cultivation of plants under special conditions. Also, salinity has a significant effect under stressful conditions, and Chapter 6 looks at the costs of high salinity tolerance in mangroves, which can tolerate hypersaline environments up to 1600–1800 mmol NaCl kg–1.

Finally, in Section 3 future improvements in the production of photosynthetic organisms are described and discussed. In this sense, Chapter 7 reviews plant nanobionics and its applica‐ tions for developing plants with improved photosynthetic capacity, explaining how crop pro‐ ductivity can be increased by engineering crop plants for tolerance against various environmental stresses and improving yield attributes, especially photosynthetic efficiency using nanomaterials.

It is important for us to say that during the production of this book the first author suffered serious health problems that led to surgery and several months of rehabilitation. Therefore, this work represents the spirit, effort, and pain of all the authors who have contributed to this excellent work.

We hope you will enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it.

To my parents Jose Luis García and Delia Cañedo To my son and daughter To my uncle Juan Carlos To BioProducts NN And for those who always had believe in me and support me **Section 1**

**Basic Concepts of Photosynthesis**

**Juan Cristóbal García Cañedo and Gema Lorena López Lizárraga**

Bioproductos NN Research and Development of Natural Products Culiacán, Sinaloa, México **Basic Concepts of Photosynthesis**

It is important for us to say that during the production of this book the first author suffered serious health problems that led to surgery and several months of rehabilitation. Therefore, this work represents the spirit, effort, and pain of all the authors who have contributed to

To my parents Jose Luis García and Delia Cañedo

And for those who always had believe in me and support me

**Juan Cristóbal García Cañedo and Gema Lorena López Lizárraga** Bioproductos NN Research and Development of Natural Products

To my son and daughter To my uncle Juan Carlos To BioProducts NN

Culiacán, Sinaloa, México

We hope you will enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it.

this excellent work.

VIII Preface

**Chapter 1**

**Provisional chapter**

**Introductory Chapter: Evolution of Photosynthesis**

**Introductory Chapter: Evolution of Photosynthesis**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.80230

Photoautotrophy is a complex process that some eukaryotic organisms can carry out. Some bacteria, algae, and plants share this capacity to transform light and carbon dioxide into biomass. Photosynthesis requires chlorophyll and other accessory pigments. There are three evolution lines that are recognized according to the types of pigments present in chloroplasts (specialized organelle where photosynthesis is performed) of these organ-

**A.** blue lineage is a primary endosymbiosis in which chlorophyll a (Chl *a*) is the only type of chlorophyll present, and chloroplast has cell walls with peptidoglycans is typical of

**B.** in the green lineage, a primary endosymbiosis also occurred, with the difference that in this lineage, Chl *a* is associated to chlorophyll b (Chl *b*). All chlorophyceae algae belong to this group and account for more than 6000 species. From these types of algae, terrestrial

**C.** red primary endosymbiosis lineage has only Chl *a* as the only type of chlorophyll present but with different kinds of accessory red carotenoid pigments. Most marine algae belong

It is believed that a second endosymbiosis event occurred and can explain the presence of additional membranes in chloroplasts. The members of the secondary red endosymbiotic event constitute a very diverse group of organisms, and the most important from the pharmaceutical point of view are diatoms (Heterokonta) and the dinoflagellate (Alveolata) [2].

plants emerged with the same trait, that is, Chl *a* associated to Chl *b*; and

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Gema Lorena López Lizárraga and

Gema Lorena López Lizárraga and

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.80230

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

**1. Evolution of photosynthetic systems**

Juan Cristóbal García Cañedo

Juan Cristóbal García Cañedo

isms (**Figure 1**).

From the above figure,

cyanobacteria;

to this group [1].

#### **Introductory Chapter: Evolution of Photosynthesis Introductory Chapter: Evolution of Photosynthesis**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.80230

Gema Lorena López Lizárraga and Juan Cristóbal García Cañedo Gema Lorena López Lizárraga and Juan Cristóbal García Cañedo

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.80230
