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Mapping the carbon reduction cycle: a personal retrospective

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Abstract

The photosynthetic carbon reduction cycle was elucidated through the use of 14CO2 during photosynthesis to label metabolic intermediates. Mapping and proof of the cycle required identification of labeled metabolites, observation of changes in levels of labeled metabolites during transitions from light to dark and from high to low CO2 levels, determination of intramolecular distribution of 14C within the metabolites after a few seconds of photosynthesis with 14CO2, and estimation of metabolite concentrations, used to calculate true free energy changes at each step in the cycle.

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    James A. Bassham

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Bassham, J.A. Mapping the carbon reduction cycle: a personal retrospective. Photosynthesis Research 76, 35–52 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024929725022

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