Fractionation of carbon isotopes in oxygenic photosynthesis the bundle sheath cells. Different forms of CCM in phytoplankton include the active uptake of bicarbonate and CO through the cell membrane, the active transport of inorganic carbon from the cellular membrane to the chloroplasts, and active, unidirectional conversion of CO to bicarbonate. The parameters affecting C fractionation in phytoplankton contribute to "δ"C values between -18 to -25‰. Fractionation of carbon isotopes in oxygenic photosynthesis Photosynthesis converts carbon dioxide to carbohydrates via several metabolic pathways that provide energy to an organism and preferentially react with certain stable isotopes of carbon. The selective enrichment of one stable isotope over another creates
Photosynthesis More recent studies, reported in March 2018, also suggest that photosynthesis may have begun about 3.4 billion years ago. The main source of oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere derives from oxygenic photosynthesis, and its first appearance is sometimes referred to as the oxygen catastrophe. Geological evidence suggests that oxygenic photosynthesis, such as that in cyanobacteria, became important during the Paleoproterozoic era around 2 billion years ago. Modern photosynthesis in plants and most photosynthetic prokaryotes is oxygenic. Oxygenic photosynthesis uses water as an electron donor, which is oxidized to molecular oxygen () in the photosynthetic reaction center. Several groups of animals