Question

Having a bit of problems with C4 and CAM plants...I think i know that C4 plants and CAM plants both use PEP carboxylase and that really the main difference between the two are One is When it does it and the other is Where it does it... Both are have a Mesophyll cell part and a Bundle Sheath?

CAM plants open there Stoma's at night and close then during the day while C4 Plants do not. They also take much longer to grow due to this reason.

Do they both use extra ATP for the PEP carboxylase?


These are just some of the points I think I know...Some may be wrong..Please correct me and

Answer 1

Let me know what else I should know

Answer 2

CAM plants open there Stoma's at night and close then during the day while C4 Plants do not. They also take much longer to grow due to this reason

Answer 3

Thats what I said lol >.> You just quoted me..Is that wrong?

Answer 4

no thats right, C4 plants use pep carboxylase fixes CO2 in the mesophyll cell (as you said) , they travel through bundle sheath cells and release the CO2 so rubisco can turn it into 3 phosphoglycerate to avoid photorespiration (which happens in presence of low concentrations of CO2 and high concentrations of O2)

Answer 5

Awesome, Is there anything else that I would need to know for a Test? Anything Major? And going offtopic for a sec, Are you a BioChem Major?

Thanks again

Answer 6

Ohh and I just remembered something about OAA and Malate? What happens with those two?

Answer 7

um PEP basically works like a CO2 pump.. and it has a higher affinity for CO2 than rubisco.. no, molecular biology. but i'm better with animal cells.. plant physiology is kinda boring ;P

Answer 8

in C4 pep and rubisco are separated in locations, while in CAM they are separated in time (night and day)

Answer 9

i'm not sure if they use ATP

Answer 10

How does that works, Aren't they both located in the same area? Or is CAM have one part thats inactive during night and vice versa

Answer 11

pep carboxylate i think delivers them as malate and aspartate and other 2C acids

Answer 12

yeah for can PEP is active at night and rubisco in the day

Answer 13

CAM not can, silly autocorrect

Answer 14

alright that makes sense thanks. I also got another question :P Why do many Cacti lack woody stems and instaed are fleshy green throughout?

Is it because of Surface area of something?

Answer 15

well cacti don't have a secondary cell wall (which are dead at maturity) and made of lignin, which is what constitutes wood. I'm pretty sure cacti are "green and fleshy" because they have tons of vacuoles to store water because you know, they do live in the desert

Answer 16

Makes total sense, would the right word be because they lack secondary Meristems?. Thanks very much.

Also Do CAM plants require more SA for photosynthesis because they lack it? or does that not make sense?

Answer 17

lateral meristems/cambium it's called

Answer 18

umm no CAM plants are just full of water, woody trees have these secondary cell walls that function as pipes (tracheids/vessel elements) to distribute water and provide structural support to allow them to grow to their massive sizes

Answer 19

Got it thanks for your help :) If i Got anymore questions ill ask in another topic :)

Answer 20

okay sounds good!