One molecule of glucose in Calvin cycle is formed from
Calvin cycle which produces hexoses from carbon dioxide and water takes place in three stages.
1. Fixation of CO2 by ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate thus forming two molecules of 3-phosphoglycerate.
2. Reduction of 3-phosphoglycerate giving rise to hexose sugars.
3. Regeneration of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate for repeating the CO2 fixation process.
However, for the synthesis of hexose from CO2, six rounds of the Calvin cycle are required as only one carbon atom is reduced in each round. While twelve molecules of ATP are used to phosphorylate 12 molecules of 3-phosphoglycerate to 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate, and 12 molecules of NADPH are required to reduce 12 molecules of 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate. Remaining 6 molecules of ATP are used to regenerate ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate. The net reaction of the Calvin cycle, therefore, is given as follows.
The above reaction leads to the formation of one molecule of hexose such as glucose or fructose.