Final answer:
The Calvin cycle is a series of chemical reactions that occur in the stroma of chloroplasts during photosynthesis. It involves carbon fixation, reduction, and regeneration.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Calvin cycle is a series of chemical reactions that occur in the stroma of chloroplasts during photosynthesis. It is also known as the light-independent reactions or the dark reactions.
In the Calvin cycle, the following steps occur:
- Carbon fixation: The enzyme RuBisCO combines carbon dioxide (CO2) and a five-carbon sugar called ribulose bisphosphate (RuBP) to form an unstable six-carbon compound.
- Reduction: The six-carbon compound is then converted into two three-carbon compounds called 3-phosphoglycerate (3-PGA) using ATP and NADPH from the light-dependent reactions.
- Regeneration: Some of the three-carbon compounds are converted back into RuBP, which can then react with more CO2 to continue the cycle.