RuBisCO
Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase, commonly known by the abbreviations RuBisCO, RuBPCase, or RuBPco, is an enzyme involved in the first major step of carbon fixation, a process by which atmospheric carbon dioxide is converted by plants and other photosynthetic organisms to energy-rich molecules such as glucose. In chemical terms, it catalyzes the carboxylation of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (also known as RuBP). It is probably the most abundant enzyme on Earth.
RuBisCO is important biologically because it catalyzes the primary chemical reaction by which inorganic carbon enters the organic biosphere. While many autotrophic bacteria and archaea fix carbon via the reductive acetyl CoA pathway, the 3-hydroxypropionate cycle, or the reverse Krebs cycle, these pathways are relatively smaller contributors to global carbon fixation than that catalyzed by RuBisCO. Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, unlike RuBisCO, only temporarily fixes carbon. Reflecting its importance, RuBisCO is the most abundant protein in leaves, accounting for 50% of soluble leaf protein in C3 plants (20–30% of total leaf nitrogen) and 30% of soluble leaf protein in C4 plants (5–9% of total leaf nitrogen). Given its important role in the biosphere, the genetic engineering of RuBisCO in crops is of continuing interest (see below).
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