2006-09-16 16:53:53 · 3 answers · asked by Oliver t 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Higher Education (University +)
Rubisco , as said before me is very important, it is the first enzyme in the Calvin cycle. to make it short , plants can generate their own food supply (photoautotrophs) - they do that by "capturing" CO2 (carbon dioxide) molecules from the atmosphere and building longer carbon chains (aka sugars).
from which the can grow. rubisco is the only known enzyme to catalyze this reaction (from atmospheric CO2).
rubisco is a large enzyme consisting of 8 large subunits and 8 small ones. it was considered "ineffective" since it can "confuse" CO2 with oxygen. so oxygen is limiting the synthesis of sugars.
2006-09-17 10:25:10 · answer #1 · answered by Yonatan G 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase, a.k.a RuBisCO is the most abundant protein on the planet (PNAS 101, 6315-6320)!
It is studied by many a great many biocehemists/molecular biologists this world over.
It is the enzyme that is responsible for catalyzing the first step of carbon fixation in the Calvin cycle.
2006-09-16 17:04:29 · answer #2 · answered by Robert 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
rubisco is an enzyme which can turn into rubp-oxygenase in the presence of high conc. oxygen leading to photorespiration, which is a wasteful process.
2006-09-16 17:03:42 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋