The most common form of photosynthesis where CO2 is directly fixed by RuBisCO into a 3-carbon compound in the Calvin cycle. This pathway is used by most plants but is less efficient in hot, dry conditions.
Named for the first stable product of carbon fixation - a 3-carbon molecule called 3-phosphoglycerate. The term was coined in the 1960s when scientists used radioactive tracers to identify the different pathways plants use to fix carbon.
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