The Calvin cycle (The Nonlight Requiring Reactions)

The Calvin cycle is a metabolic pathway found in the stroma of the chloroplast in which carbon enters in the form of CO2 and leaves in the form of sugar.

The Calvin Cycle The cycle spends ATP as an energy source and consumes NADPH2 as reducing power for adding high energy electrons to make the sugar. There are three phases of the cycle. In phase 1 (Carbon Fixation), CO2 is incorporated into a five-carbon sugar named ribulose bisphosphate (RuBP). The enzyme which catalyzes this first step is RuBP carboxylase or rubisco. It is the most abundant protein in chloroplasts and probably the most abundant protein on Earth. The product of the reaction is a sixcarbon intermediate which immediately splits in half to form two molecules of 3-phosphoglycerate. In phase 2 ( Reduction), ATP and NADPH2from the light reactions are used to convert 3phosphoglycerate to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, the three-carbon carbohydrate precursor to glucose and other sugars. In phase 3 (Regeneration), more ATP is used to convert some of the of the pool of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate back to RuBP, the acceptor for CO2, thereby completing the cycle. For every three molecules of CO2 that enter the cycle, the net output is one molecule of

glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (G3P). For each G3P synthesized, the cycle spends nine molecules of ATP and six molecules of NADPH2. The light reactions sustain the Calvin cycle by regenerating the ATP and NADPH2.

Calvin cycle
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Overview of the Calvin cycle and carbon fixation

The Calvin cycle or CalvinBenson-Bassham cycle or reductive pentose phosphate cycle or C3 cycle or CBB cycle is a series of biochemical redox reactions that take place in the stroma of chloroplasts in photosynthetic organisms. It is also known (erroneously) as the "dark reaction" or "dark stage." The cycle was discovered by Meldrich Calvin, Jake Bassham, and Andre Benson at the University of California, Berkeley[1] by using the radioactive isotope carbon-14. It is one of the light-independent (dark) reactions, used for carbon fixation.

The Calvin Cycle Process

Phase 1: Carbon Fixation CO2 comes into the stroma of the chloroplast via the stomata of the leaves. Rubisco catalyzes the bonding of CO2 to RuBP to create an unstable 6-carbon molecule that instantly splits into two 3carbon molecules of 3-PG.

Phase 2: Reduction ATP phosphorylates each 3-PG molecule and creates 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate. This in turn results in the loss of the terminal phosphate group from ATP (adenosine triphosphate) thus making ADP (adenosine diphosphate).

These pictures show the difference between ATP and ADP. ATP (left) has a tail of three phosphate groups. The molecule then donates the terminal phosphate group and becomes ADP with only two phosphate groups.

NADPH reduces 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate which causes the phosphate group to break off once again. The molecule then picks up a proton (H+) from the medium to become glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate. The broken off phosphate group also gains a proton to become H3PO4. NADPH is oxidized by this process and becomes NADP+.

These pictures show the difference between NADPH (left) and NAP+ (right). In NAP+, the nitrogen has 4 bonds giving the molecule an overall positive charge. Below are the three intermediates of the reduction phase of the Calvin cycle. Note the only difference between each molecule is the group attached to the primary carbon (the lowest carbon -- with the carbonyl.)

Phase 3: Regeneration
For every six molecules of G3P created five molecules continue on to phase 3 while one leaves to be used for organic compounds.

ATP is once again needed. However, this time it phosphorylates G3P to regenerate RuBP after some rearrangement.

Output of Calvin Cycle: G3P is combined to form fructose.

Fructose is then rearranged to create glucose.

Fructose and glucose then undergo dehydration and form a glycosidic linkage to create the disaccharide sucrose and water. Sucrose is then transported throughout the plant.

Light-dependent reactions

The light-dependent reactions, or light reactions, are the this first stage of photosynthesis, energy form is of the process by which plants capture and store energy from sunlight. In process, in the light the converted the into chemical energy, reactions, However, energy-carrying light-independent the reduction are, are by not

molecules ATP and NADPH. In the

formed NADPH and ATP drive light-independent called dark

of CO2 to more useful organic compounds, such as glucose. although also reactions they convention, reactions,

independent of the need of light, for they are driven by ATP and NADPH, products of light. The light-dependent reactions take place on

the thylakoid membrane inside a chloroplast. The inside of the thylakoid membrane is called the lumen, and outside the thylakoid membrane is the stroma, where the lightindependent reactions take place. The thylakoid membrane contains catalyze some integral the light membrane proteincomplexes There are four that major reactions.

protein complexes in the thylakoid membrane: Photosystem

I (PSI), Photosystem

II (PSII), Cytochrome

c6f

complex,

and ATP synthase. These four complexes work together to ultimately create the products ATP and NADPH.