LIGHT
INDEPENDENT
REACTIONS
Light Indpendent Reactions
• Also called Calvin cycle, is the
chemical process that helps
convert potential energy from ATP
and NADPH into potential energy
stored in glucose
• It occurs in the stroma
Key Terms
• RuBisCO: (ribulose bisphosphate
carboxylase) a plant enzyme which
catalyzes the fixing of atmospheric carbon
dioxide during photosynthesis by catalyzing
the reaction between carbon dioxide and
RuBP
• Ribulose Biphosphate: an organic
substance that is involved in
photosynthesis, reacts with carbon dioxide
to form 3-PGA
CONCEPT 10.3: The Calvine Cycle uses
the chemical energy of ATP and NADPH to
reduce CO2 to sugar
• The Calvin cycle, like the citric acid
cycle, regenerates its starting
material after molecules enter and
leave the cycle
• The cycle builds sugar from smaller
molecules by using ATP and the
reducing power of electrons carried
by NADPH
• Carbon enters the cycle as CO2 and
leaves as a sugar named
glyceraldehyde 3-phospate (G3P)
• For net synthesis of 1 G3P, the cycle
must take place three times, fixing 3
molecules of CO2
• The Calvin cycle has three phases CO
2
CO
1. Carbon Fixation (catalyzed by
rubisco)
[Link]
CO 2
[Link] of the CO2 acceptor 2
(RuBP)
Carbon Fixation
• The enzyme called RuBisCO grabs CO₂ from
the air and attaches it to a molecule called
RuBP (a sugar with 5 carbons).
• But this new 6-carbon molecule is too
unstable—it immediately breaks into two
smaller 3-carbon molecules called 3-PGA (3-
phosphoglycerate).
CO
2
CO
• This step is all about capturing carbon and CO 2
preparing it for transformation. 2
Reduction
• ATP and NADPH (produced during
the light-dependent reactions) are
used to convert 3-PGA into
glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P),
a 3-carbon sugar. CO
2
CO
• ATP provides energy, and NADPH
provides reducing power (electrons). CO 2
2
Regeneration
• Some of the G3P molecules are used
to regenerate RuBP, allowing the
cycle to continue.
• This process requires ATP and
involves a series of complex
CO
2
CO
reactions to rearrange carbon
molecules. CO 2
2
CONCEPT 10.4: Alternative mechanism of
carbon fixiation have evolved in hot, arid
climates
• Dehydration is a problem for plants, sometimes
requiring trade-offs with other metabolic processes,
especially photosynthesis
• On hot, dry days, plants close stomata, which
conserves H2O but also limits photosynthesis
• The closing of stomata reduces access to CO2 and
causes O2 to build up
• These conditions favor an apparently wasteful
process called photorespiration
Photorespiration: An Evolutionary Relic?
• In most plants (C3 plants), initial fixation of CO2,
via rubisco, forms a three-carbon compound (3-
phosphoglycerate)
• In photorespiration, rubisco adds O2 instead of CO2
in the Calvin cycle, producing a two-carbon
compound
• Photorespiration consumes O2 and organic fuel and
releases CO2 without producing ATP or sugar
• Photorespiration may be an evolutionaty relic
because rubisco first evolved at a time when the
atmosphere had far less O2 and more CO2
• Photorespiration limits damaging products of light
reactions that build up in the absence of the Calvin
cycle
• In many plants, photorespiration is a problem
because on a hot, dry day it can drain as much as
50% of the carbon fixed by the Calvin cycle
C4
• C4 plants minimize the cost of photorespiration by
Plants
incorporating CO2 into four-carbon compounds in
mesophyll cells
• This step requires the enzyme PEP carboxylase
• PEP carboxylase has a higher affinity for CO2 than
rubisco does; it can fix CO2 even when CO2
concentrations are low
• These four-carbon compounds are exported to
bundle-sheath cells, where they release CO2 that is
then used in the Calvin cycle
• In the last 150 years since the Industrial
Revolution, CO2 levels have risen greatly
• Increasing levels of CO2 may affect C3 and C4
plants differently, perhaps changing the relative
abundance of these species
• The effects of such changes are unpredictable
and a cause for concern
CAM Plants
• Some plants, including succlents, use crassulacean
acid metabolism (CAM) to fix carbon
• CAM plants open their stomata at night,
incorporating CO2 into organic acids
• Stomata close during the day, and CO2 is released
from organic acids and used in the Calvin cycle
he Importance of Photosynthesis: A Review
• The energy entering chloroplasts as sunlight gets stored as
chemical energy in organic compounds
• Sugar made in the chloroplasts supplies chemical energy
and carbon skeletons to synthesize the organic molecules
of cells
• Plants store excess sugar as starch in structures such as
roots, tubers, seeds, and fruits
• In addition to food production, photosynthesis produces the
O2 in our atmosphere
Group
Members
Kristine Mae Nalua
Lucelle Fate Perfiñan
Fein Herr Gimotea
John robert Maguad
Guil Einstroy Emenos
Kent Elmar Nic Quintayo
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