How plants use glucose from photosynthesis

In a nutshell

Plants produce glucose during photosynthesis. Glucose is used in many different ways, for example, in respiration and to make cell walls.

Use	Explanation
Respiration	Glucose can be broken down. The chemical energy that is released can be used by the plant in other process such as protein synthesis.
Making cell walls	Lots of glucose molecules can be joined together to form cellulose. This molecule is used to build up the cell wall.
Making amino acids	Glucose can be combined with nitrate ions (from the soil) to make amino acids. These amino acids are used to make proteins.
Stored as oils or fats	Glucose can be made into lipids (oils and fats) that can be stored in seeds.
Stored as starch	Lots of glucose molecules can be joined together to make starch. This can be stored in roots, stems and leaves as grains. When the plants are not carrying out photosynthesis, they can use the starch as an energy source. Starch is also insoluble which means it can't dissolve in water. This makes it a better energy store than glucose as glucose is soluble. So, if there was a high concentration of glucose in the cell, water would be drawn in and the cell would swell.