In the Calvin cycle, carbon atoms from CO2start text, C, O, end text, start subscript, 2, end subscript are fixed (incorporated into organic molecules) and used to build three-carbon sugars. This process is fueled by, and dependent on, ATP and NADPH from the light reactions.
Summary. The primary function of the Calvin cycle is carbon fixation, which is making simple sugars from carbon dioxide and water.
The reactions of the Calvin cycle add carbon (from carbon dioxide in the atmosphere) to a simple five-carbon molecule called RuBP. These reactions use chemical energy from NADPH and ATP that were produced in the light reactions. The final product of the Calvin cycle is glucose.
c. The basic function of the Calvin cycle is the conversion of solar energy to chemical energy.
The Calvin cycle. How the products of the light reactions, ATP and NADPH, are used to fix carbon into sugars in the second stage of photosynthesis.
Three turns of the Calvin cycle are needed to make one G3P molecule that can exit the cycle and go towards making glucose. Let’s summarize the quantities of key molecules that enter and exit the Calvin cycle as one net G3P is made. In three turns of the Calvin cycle:
In order for one G3P to exit the cycle (and go towards glucose synthesis), three molecules must enter the cycle, providing three new atoms of fixed carbon. When three molecules enter the cycle, six G3P molecules are made.
A G3P molecule contains three fixed carbon atoms, so it takes two G3Ps to build a six-carbon glucose molecule. It would take six turns of the cycle, or , ATP, and NADPH, to produce one molecule of glucose. [References and attribution]
This reaction is catalyzed by the enzyme rubisco. In the second stage, six ATP and six NADPH are used to convert the six 3-PGA molecules into six molecules of a three-carbon sugar (G3P). This reaction is considered a reduction because NADPH must donate its electrons to a three-carbon intermediate to make G3P. Regeneration.