C3 Photosynthesis Essay

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C3 photosynthesis is the ancestral form of photosynthesis and is present in the majority of plant species (Sage, Sage & Kocacinar 2012). In this process CO2 enters the mesophyll cell (mc) via openings in the epidermis called stomata and diffuses into the into the chloroplast where it enters the Calvin cycle (Raven, Evert & Eichhorn 2013). The Calvin cycle is made up of three stages: 1. Carboxylation of Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP). In which a molecule of CO2 is covalently bonded to a molecule of RuBP forming the first stable intermediate 3-Phosphoglycerate. It is from this 3 carbon product that the name C3 photosynthesis comes from. This reaction catalysed by the enzyme Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (Rubisco) 2. Reduction of 3-phosphoglycerate to the carbohydrate glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate, utilizing the ATP and NADPH formed in the light harvesting reactions. 3. Regeneration of the initial substrate RuBP (Taiz & Zeiger 2006). These stages encompass thirteen different reactions the net result of which is:
3CO2+5H2O+6NADPH+9ATP→glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate+6NAD...

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