A light-dependent catabolic process occurring concomitantly with photosynthesis in plants (especially C3 plants) whereby dioxygen (O2) is consumed and carbon dioxide (CO2) is evolved. The substrate is glycolate formed in large quantities in chloroplasts from 2-phosphoglycolate generated from ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate by the action of ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase; the glycolate enters the peroxisomes where it is converted by glycolate oxidase to glyoxylate which undergoes transamination to glycine. This then passes into the mitochondria where it is decarboxylated forming one molecule of serine for every two molecules of glycine. This pathway also exists in photosynthetic bacteria.

The chemical reactions and pathways involving L-serine, the L-enantiomer of serine, i.e. (2S)-2-amino-3-hydroxypropanoic acid.

The chemical reactions and pathways involving amino acids of the serine family, comprising cysteine, glycine, homoserine, selenocysteine and serine.

A small organelle enclosed by a single membrane, and found in most eukaryotic cells. Contains peroxidases and other enzymes involved in a variety of metabolic processes including free radical detoxification, lipid catabolism and biosynthesis, and hydrogen peroxide metabolism.

The membrane surrounding a cell that separates the cell from its external environment. It consists of a phospholipid bilayer and associated proteins.

An enzyme complex that catalyzes the oxidation of reduced ferredoxin. Hydrogenase contains iron-sulfur clusters, and some contain nickel; it can use molecular hydrogen for the reduction of a variety of substances.

A chlorophyll-containing plastid with thylakoids organized into grana and frets, or stroma thylakoids, and embedded in a stroma.

The space enclosed by the double membrane of a chloroplast but excluding the thylakoid space. It contains DNA, ribosomes and some temporary products of photosynthesis.

A lipid bilayer along with all the proteins and protein complexes embedded in it an attached to it.

The cell membranes and intracellular regions in a plant are connected through plasmodesmata, and plants may be described as having two major compartments: the living symplast and the non-living apoplast. The apoplast is external to the plasma membrane and includes cell walls, intercellular spaces and the lumen of dead structures such as xylem vessels. Water and solutes pass freely through it.