High School

In hot, dry conditions, rubisco can attach O2 to RuBP in a process called ______, which ultimately produces CO2.

Answer :

In hot dry conditions, rubisco can attach O₂ to RuBP in a process called photorespiration, which ultimately produces CO₂.

Rubisco, or ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase, is an enzyme involved in the process of carbon fixation during photosynthesis.

Under normal conditions, rubisco catalyzes the attachment of CO₂ to RuBP (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate), leading to the formation of an unstable 6-carbon molecule that quickly breaks down into two 3-carbon molecules, which are then utilized in subsequent steps of the Calvin cycle to produce carbohydrates.

However, in hot dry conditions, a phenomenon known as photorespiration can occur. Photorespiration is a wasteful process in which rubisco mistakenly attaches O₂ instead of CO₂ to RuBP. This reaction is referred to as oxygenation. The resulting compound breaks down to release CO₂, thus reducing the efficiency of photosynthesis.

Photorespiration is considered wasteful because it consumes energy and produces no useful organic molecules. It occurs because rubisco has a higher affinity for O₂ than for CO₂ when the concentration of CO₂ is low and the concentration of O₂ is high, as is the case in hot dry conditions. The resulting breakdown of the oxygenated product in photorespiration releases CO₂, contributing to the net loss of fixed carbon.

Overall, in hot dry conditions, rubisco's oxygenation of RuBP in the process of photorespiration leads to the production of CO₂, which is ultimately released into the environment.

To know more about photorespiration refer here:

https://brainly.com/question/30900066#

#SPJ11