NEETBotanyPhotosynthesis in Higher Plants
What is the first product formed when CO2 is fixed in the Calvin cycle?
Options
- AGlucose
- BRibulose bisphosphate
- C3-phosphoglyceric acid (PGA)
- DFructose
Correct answer
C. 3-phosphoglyceric acid (PGA)
Step-by-step solution
CO2 is combined with H2O to produce (CH2O) n or sugars. It was of interest to scientists to find out how this reaction proceeded, or rather what was the first product formed when CO2 is taken into a reaction or fixed. Just after world war II, among the several efforts to put radioisotopes to beneficial use, the work of Melvin Calvin is exemplary. The use of radioactive 14C by him in algal photosynthesis studies led to the discovery that the first CO2 fixation product was a 3-carbon organic acid. He also contributed