Glossary

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Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase

A crucial enzyme for photosynthesis abbreviated as "rubisco"

Rubisco is the only enzyme that can bring carbon into the food chain. Therefore, rubisco is the foundation of virtually all food chains, occuring in all photosynthetic organisms.

Rubisco transfers a carbon atom from carbon dioxide and attaches it to a sugar molecule (ribulose-1,5 bisphosphate = rubp). This transfer is enabled by energy harvested from sunlight by pigments such as chlorophyll. The final product of photosynthesis is generally starch. Because its role is so important, it can sometimes make up 50 percent of the material in a plant leaf. This makes it the most abundant protein on Earth.