Calvin cycle

The Calvin cycle (also known as Calvin-Benson cycle) is a series of biochemical reactions taking place in the chloroplasts of photosynthetic organisms. It was discovered by Melvin Calvin and Andy Benson at the University of California, Berkeley.

During photosynthesis, light energy has been converted into chemical energy stored in ATP and NADPH. The light-independent Calvin cycle uses the energy from these short-lived energy carriers to convert carbon dioxide into organic compounds that can be used by the organism. This set of reactions is also called carbon fixation. The key enzyme of the cycle is called RubisCO.

The total sum of reactions in the Calvin cycle is

6CO₂ + 12NADPH + 12H₂O + 18 ATP → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 12NADP⁺ + 18ADP + 18 P_i