The main product of the Calvin cycle is GALP (glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate), a triose phosphate. Only one in six GALP molecules leaves the cycle; the rest regenerate RuBP. The GALP that leaves is the starting material for all the other organic molecules a plant needs.Carbohydrates
• Two GALP molecules combine to make a hexose such as glucose or fructose.
• Glucose is respired to provide ATP for the cell.
• Glucose and fructose join to make sucrose, the form in which carbohydrate is transported in the phloem.
• α-glucose is polymerised to starch for storage, in chloroplasts and storage organs.
• β-glucose is polymerised to cellulose for cell walls.Lipids
• GALP is used to make both glycerol and fatty acids, which combine to form triglycerides (energy stores, for example in seeds) and phospholipids (for membranes).Proteins and nucleic acids
• GALP and other intermediates are converted to amino acids. This needs nitrogen, which plants absorb from the soil as nitrate ions, and sometimes sulfur from sulfate ions.
• Sugars such as ribose, together with nitrogen and phosphate, are used to make nucleotides for DNA, RNA and ATP.The other product of photosynthesis is oxygen, from the light-dependent reactions. Some is used in the plant's own respiration; the rest diffuses out of the leaf through the stomata.
• Two GALP molecules combine to make a hexose such as glucose or fructose.
• Glucose is respired to provide ATP for the cell.
• Glucose and fructose join to make sucrose, the form in which carbohydrate is transported in the phloem.
• α-glucose is polymerised to starch for storage, in chloroplasts and storage organs.
• β-glucose is polymerised to cellulose for cell walls.Lipids
• GALP is used to make both glycerol and fatty acids, which combine to form triglycerides (energy stores, for example in seeds) and phospholipids (for membranes).Proteins and nucleic acids
• GALP and other intermediates are converted to amino acids. This needs nitrogen, which plants absorb from the soil as nitrate ions, and sometimes sulfur from sulfate ions.
• Sugars such as ribose, together with nitrogen and phosphate, are used to make nucleotides for DNA, RNA and ATP.The other product of photosynthesis is oxygen, from the light-dependent reactions. Some is used in the plant's own respiration; the rest diffuses out of the leaf through the stomata.