LIGHT INDEPENDENT REACTION

In the light-independent reactions or Calvin cycle, the energized electrons from the
light-dependent reactions provide the energy to form carbohydrates from carbon
dioxide molecules. The light-independent reactions are sometimes called the Calvin
cycle because of the cyclical nature of the process.
Although the light-independent reactions do not use light as a reactant (and as a
result can take place at day or night), they require the products of the light-dependent
reactions to function. The light-independent molecules depend on the energy carrier
molecules, ATP and NADPH, to drive the construction of new carbohydrate molecules.
After the energy is transferred, the energy carrier molecules return to the lightdependent reactions to obtain more energized electrons. In addition,
several enzymes of the light-independent reactions are activated by light.

Photosynthesis within the Chloroplast

In all autotrophic eukaryotes, photosynthesis takes place inside an organelle called a
chloroplast. For plants, chloroplast-containing cells exist in the mesophyll. Chloroplasts
have a double membrane envelope composed of an outer membrane and an inner
membrane. Within the double membrane are stacked, disc-shaped structures called
thylakoids. Embedded in the thylakoid membrane is chlorophyll, a pigment that
absorbs certain portions of the visible spectrum and captures energy from sunlight.
Chlorophyll gives plants their green color and is responsible for the initial interaction
between light and plant material, as well as numerous proteins that make up
the electron transport chain. The thylakoid membrane encloses an internal space
called the thylakoid lumen. A stack of thylakoids is called a granum, and the liquidfilled space surrounding the granum is the stroma or "bed."

CALVIN CYCLE
Although the cycle is quite complicated, there are not too many compounds that need
to be known about at this level:
Compound

No of
C atoms

No of
phosphates

Ribulose bisphosphate
(RUBP)

Glycerate 3-phosphate
(GP)

Triose phosphate
(TP)

Ribulose monophosphate
(RuP)

There are effectively 3 stages to this process:

1) CARBON DIOXIDE FIXATION
This process is called fixation because carbon dioxide from the air is converted into an
organic
compound
which
cannot
move
away. Carbon
dioxide
reacts
with ribulose bisphosphate RuBP. For this reason RuBP is called a CO 2 acceptor. Yet
another way of saying this is that RuBP is carboxylated. This occurs under the
influence of the enzyme ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase (RUBISCO) which is said to
be the most abundant protein on the planet. Ribulose bisphosphate has 5 carbon
atoms and 2 phosphate groups, and by accepting one more carbon atom from CO 2 it
should be converted into a 6 carbon, 2 phosphate compound. However ... This
compound is immediately converted into 2 molecules of glycerate 3-phosphate
(GP), which contains 3 carbons and one phosphate group. For every 6 molecules of
CO2 entering the cycle, 12 molecules of GP are produced. This pathway is called C3
carbon fixation because the first product is a 3-carbon compound. Some plants have
an alternative pathway - C4 carbon fixation - in which the 4-carbon compound
oxalacetate (OAA) is produced and others have a CAM pathway.

2) CARBON DIOXIDE REDUCTION

This stage is so called because when CO 2 reacts with H from reduced NADP it gains
hydrogen and loses oxygen to become CH 2O, the empirical (simplest) formula for
carbohydrates. Reduction is loss of oxygen, or reaction with hydrogen, or gain of
electrons. However the CO2 is now part of glycerate 3-phosphate (GP). Glycerate 3phosphate (GP) is converted into triose phosphate (TP) using reduced NADP and
ATP. The reduced NADP provides the reducing power (hydrogen) and is converted back
to NADP which is then reduced again in the light-dependent reactions. ATP is also used
to provide energy for the conversion. It is converted into ADP + Pi, which are
reconverted into ATP in the light-dependent reactions. Some of the triose phosphate
(two molecules out of the twelve) is removed from the cycle, to be converted into
glucose, or other molecules such as starch, lipid or protein.

3) RIBULOSE BIPHOSPHATE REGENERATION

In a complex series of reactions, the remaining ten molecules of TP are converted into
6 molecules of the 5-carbon compound ribulose monophosphate (10x3C=6x5C, but
some phosphates are lost from the cycle). Ribulose monophosphate is converted into
ribulose bisphosphate, using a phosphate group from ATP. Ribulose bisphosphate
reacts with/accepts carbon dioxide/becomes carboxylated, to keep the cycle operating
again ...