C3 carbon fixation

C3 carbon fixation is the most common

of three metabolic pathways for carbon
fixation in photosynthesis, along with C4
and CAM. This process converts carbon
dioxide and ribulose bisphosphate (RuBP,
a 5-carbon sugar) into two molecules of
3-phosphoglycerate through the
following reaction:
Calvin–Benson cycle

CO2 + H2O + RuBP → (2) 3-

phosphoglycerate

This reaction occurs in all plants as the

first step of the Calvin–Benson cycle. (In
C4 and CAM plants, carbon dioxide is
drawn out of malate and into this
reaction rather than directly from the air.)
Cross section of a C3 plant, specifically of an
Arabidopsis thaliana leaf. Vascular bundles shown.
Drawing based on microscopic images courtesy of
Cambridge University Plant Sciences Department.

Plants that survive solely on C3 fixation

(C3 plants) tend to thrive in areas where
sunlight intensity is moderate,
temperatures are moderate, carbon
dioxide concentrations are around 200
ppm or higher,[1] and groundwater is
plentiful. The C3 plants, originating during
Mesozoic and Paleozoic eras, predate
the C4 plants and still represent
approximately 95% of Earth's plant
biomass, including important food crops
such as rice, wheat, soybeans and barley.

C3 plants cannot grow in very hot areas

because RuBisCO incorporates more
oxygen into RuBP as temperatures
increase. This leads to photorespiration
(also known as the oxidative
photosynthetic carbon cycle, or C2
photosynthesis), which leads to a net
loss of carbon and nitrogen from the
plant and can therefore limit growth.

C3 plants lose up to 97% of the water

taken up through their roots by
transpiration.[2] In dry areas, C3 plants
shut their stomata to reduce water loss,
but this stops CO2 from entering the
leaves and therefore reduces the
concentration of CO2 in the leaves. This
lowers the CO2:O2 ratio and therefore
also increases photorespiration. C4 and
CAM plants have adaptations that allow
them to survive in hot and dry areas, and
they can therefore out-compete C3 plants
in these areas.

The isotopic signature of C3 plants

shows higher degree of 13C depletion
than the C4 plants, due to variation in
fractionation of carbon isotopes in
oxygenic photosynthesis across plant
types.
Scientists have designed new
metabolism pathways which reduces the
losses to photorespiration, by more
efficiently metabolizing the toxic
glycolate produced. This resulted in over
40% increase in biomass production in
their model organism (the tobacco plant)
in their test conditions. The scientists are
optimistic that this optimization can also
be implemented in other C3 crops like
wheat.[3]

References
1. C. Michael Hogan. 2011.
"Respiration". Encyclopedia of Earth.
Eds. Mark McGinley and C. J.
 Cleveland. National Council for
Science and the Environment.
Washington, D.C.
2. Raven, J. A.; Edwards, D. (March
2001). "Roots: evolutionary origins
and biogeochemical significance" .
Journal of Experimental Botany. 52
(Supplement 1): 381–401.
doi:10.1093/jexbot/52.suppl_1.381 .
PMID 11326045 .
3. South, Paul F.; Cavanagh, Amanda P.;
Liu, Helen W.; Ort, Donald R. (2019).
"Synthetic glycolate metabolism
pathways stimulate crop growth and
productivity in the field" . Science.
363 (6422): eaat9077.
 doi:10.1126/science.aat9077 .
PMID 30606819 .

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