The 'Fascination of Plants Day 2012' 'Success Story' Galway, Ireland

1. – 10 steps to the atom
1. A cherry leaf at actual size.
2. A cherry leaf magnified 10 times
3. An aphid and leaf surface x100
4. A section of a leaf x1000
The orange particles are starch grains
5. A single cell filled with chloroplasts x10,000
6. A single chloroplast in close-up x100,000
7. ultra-structure of the chloroplast x1,000,000
8. The light-harvesting antennae which trap the energy
of sunlight x10,000,000

2. 9. A single molecule of light-harvesting Chlorophyll
x100,000,000
10. A single Carbon atom x 1,000,000,000
5 million would fit in a millimetre.
The original leaf, if we had kept enlarging it in
size, would be well past the sun at this scale!
STARCH – plants convert glucose to starch as a storage
carbohydrate. The glucose molecules are joined together
into a 3-dimensional molecule. Each starch grain is
potentially a single molecule. It is the main compound in all
our plant crops, including wheat, barley and potatoes.
Starch is easily broken down into Glucose by both plants
and animals.
CELLULOSE – plants convert glucose to cellulose, a
fibre-like molecule that gives reinforcement to cell walls
and thus leaves, stems and wood. The glucose molecules
are joined together in long unbranched chains. Cotton,
paper and linen are all made from cellulose. Unlike starch,
cellulose is difficult to digest.
RuBisCO (Rbulose-1,5-bisphosphate Carboxylase
Oxidase)– the most abundant protein on earth. 30-50% of
all leaf protein consists of this single enzyme. It catalyses
the reaction of 5-carbon sugars with carbon dioxide
ultimately making the carbohydrate glucose.
The earth’s biosphere is entirely dependent upon this step to
build carbon life from sunlight.
Deoxyribo Nuclei Acid – is the basis of genetic material.
Using a four letter code (A, T, C & G) this molecule
provides the blueprint for all the genes in humans and all
other life on earth. The helical structure, with 2 matching
strands allows DNA to make exact copies of itself, passing
on the genes to every cell and to the next generation.
Chlorophyll – this amazing molecule is capable of trapping
the energy of sunlight and using this energy to strip
electrons from water molecules – liberating oxygen which
nearly all life is dependent upon; in addition it charges up
energy-rich molecules which provide the fuel to power the
RuBisCO molecule – turning carbon dioxide into sugars
and so running the entire carbon cycle.