BIOL 1108 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate, Photosynthetic Pigment, Light-Independent Reactions
Document Summary
Core concept 2: the calvin cycle is a three-step process that uses carbon dioxide to synthesize carbohydrates. The calvin cycle consists of 15 chemical reactions that synthesize carbohydrates from. These reactions are grouped into three main steps: carboxylation. During carboxylation, co2 is absorbed from the air and is added to a 5- carbon molecule, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (rubp). This reaction is catalyzed by the enzyme ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase (rubisco). Rubisco is a very slow enzyme and must be produced in very large amounts in a cell. The 6-carbon molecule formed is broken down into two 3-carbon molecules of 3-phosphoglycerate (3-pga): reduction. During reduction, in order for their energy to increase, the carbon compounds formed by rubisco must be reduced. Nadph (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) is the reducing agent used in the calvin cycle. Nadph transfers the energy and electrons that allow carbohydrates to be synthesized from co2. The reduction of 3-pga involves two steps.
