| PEPThe substrate PEP (phosphoenol pyruvate) is used to fix carbon in C4 plants and CAM plants. In a reaction catalyzed by PEP-carboxylase, it forms oxaloacetate (OAA), a four-carbon acid. OAA is quickly converted to malic acid. Phosphoenolpyruvic acid has the content C3H5O6P.  
 | Index Organic chemistry concepts Chemistry concepts Reference Karp Ch 3 Moore, et al. Ch 7 | ||
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| RuBP
 RuBP (ribulose 1,5-biphosphate) is a five-carbon sugar which reacts with CO2 in the first step of the Calvin cycle for fixing carbon in photosynthetic systems. That reaction is catalyzed by the large enzyme rubisco . The catalytic reaction with RuBP and carbon dioxide through a short-lived intermediary almost instantaneously produces two molecules of glycerate 3-phosphate (3PGA). 
 | Index Organic chemistry concepts Chemistry concepts Reference Karp Ch 3 | |||
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