Rubisco Is an Important Enzyme in the Calvin Cycle Because

question 16

Essay

Rubisco is an important enzyme in the Calvin cycle because it acts as a carboxylase to catalyze addition of carbon dioxide and water to ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate,which then forms two molecules of 3-phosphoglycerate.Rubisco also acts as an oxygenase to catalyze addition of molecular oxygen rather than carbon dioxide to ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate.
a)What is (are)the product(s)of the rubisco oxygenase reaction activity and why is this a problem for plants?
b)Explain why rubisco's much lower affinity for oxygen than for carbon dioxide does not mitigate the rubisco oxygenase problem for plants.
c)Identify the pathway plants use to metabolize the problematic product of rubisco oxygenase and the final fate of its carbons.
d)Explain why the oxygenase activity of rubisco is particularly problematic for plants in arid environments.
e)What strategies do plants in arid environments use to deal with this problem?

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