The pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) is divided into an oxidative branch that makes pentose phosphates and a non-oxidative branch that consumes pentose phosphates, though the non-oxidative branch is considered reversible. A modified version of the non-oxidative branch is a critical component of the Calvin-Benson cycle that converts CO2 into sugar. The reaction sequence in the Calvin-Benson cycle is from triose phosphates to pentose phosphates, the opposite of the typical direction of the non-oxidative PPP. The photosynthetic direction is favored by replacing the transaldolase step of the normal non-oxidative PPP with a second aldolase reaction plus sedoheptulose-1,7-bisphosphatase. This can be considered an anabolic version of the non-oxidative PPP and is found in a few situations other than photosynthesis. In addition to the strong association of the non-oxidative PPP with photosynthesis metabolism, there is recent evidence that the oxidative PPP reactions are also important in photosynthesizing cells. These reactions can form a shunt around the non-oxidative PPP section of the Calvin-Benson cycle, consuming three ATP per glucose 6-phosphate consumed. A constitutive operation of this shunt occurs in the cytosol and gives rise to an unusual labeling pattern of photosynthetic metabolites while an inducible shunt in the stroma may occur in response to stress.
Keywords: 13C; 14C; Calvin-Benson cycle; aldol; isotope labeling; light respiration; photosynthesis.