Following carton atoms around the Calvin cycle The net react

Following carton atoms around the Calvin cycle The net reaction of the Calvin cycle is the conversion of CO_2 into the three-carbon sugar G3P. Along the way. Reactions rearrange carbon atoms among intermediate compounds and use the ATP and NADPH produced by the light reactions. In this exercise, you will track carbon atoms through the Calvin cycle as required for the net production of one molecule of G3P. For each intermediate compound in the Calvin cycle, identify the number of molecules of that intermediate and the total number of carbon atoms contained in those molecules. As an example, the output G3P is labeled for you: 1 molecule with a total of 3 carbon atoms. Labels may be used once, more than once, or not at all.

Solution

a) 3 molecules of CO₂ - 3 carbon atoms

b) 6 molecules of 3-PGA - 18 carbon atoms (3 carbon atoms in 1 3-PGA molecule)

c) 6 molecules of G3P - 18 carbon atoms (3 carbon atoms in 1 G3P molecule)

d) 5 molecules of G3P - 15 carbon atoms

e) 3 molecules of R5P - 15 carbon atoms (5 carbon atoms in 1 R5P molecule)

f) 3 molecules of RuBP - 15 carbon atoms (5 carbon atoms in 1 RuBP molecule)