C3 carbon fixation

C3 carbon fixation is a photosynthetic pathway in which Rubisco fixes carbon dioxide into 3-phosphoglycerate through the Calvin cycle. It is called C3 because the first stable product has three carbon atoms.

Calvin cycle: A cyclic series of reactions that fixes carbon dioxide into carbohydrate using ATP and NADPH. C3 fixation is the carbon-entry route into this cycle.
Chloroplast: An organelle in plants and algae where photosynthesis occurs. C3 fixation takes place in the chloroplast stroma.
C4 carbon fixation: A photosynthetic pathway that first fixes carbon dioxide into four-carbon acids before delivering it to the Calvin cycle. C4 plants concentrate carbon dioxide near Rubisco, reducing photorespiration.
C3 plant: A plant whose first stable product of photosynthetic carbon fixation is 3-phosphoglycerate. These plants use the pathway directly without a C4 or CAM carbon-concentrating step.
Rubisco: An enzyme that catalyzes the attachment of carbon dioxide to ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate. It performs the carbon-fixing reaction that begins the pathway.
Stroma: The fluid-filled compartment inside a chloroplast surrounding the thylakoids. The Calvin-cycle reactions of C3 fixation occur in this compartment.
CAM photosynthesis: A pathway that takes up carbon dioxide at night and uses it during daytime photosynthesis. CAM separates initial carbon uptake from the Calvin cycle by time.
Photorespiration in C3 plants: The oxygenation-driven process that releases previously fixed carbon in C3 plant leaves. Its losses can substantially limit net carbon gain in warm conditions.
3-Phosphoglycerate: A three-carbon intermediate in glycolysis and the Calvin cycle. It is the first stable product of carbon fixation in C3 plants.
ATP: A molecule that transfers usable chemical energy in cells. The Calvin cycle spends ATP to reduce fixed carbon and regenerate its acceptor.

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