Republic of the Philippines

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
CENTRAL MINDANAO UNIVERSITY
University Town, Musuan, Maramag, Bukidnon
SciEd 254 BIOLOGY FOR TEACHERS
NAME: HAZEL LOVE C. ALFORQUE
DEGREE & MAJOR: MS GENERAL SCIENCE EDUCATION
C3 and C4
Plants are classified as to whether there is a presence of vascular bundles or either
spore-bearing or seed-bearing plants. Also, we have to remember that plants undergo
photosynthesis which is commonly termed carbon-fixation in which plants take carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere and convert the inorganic carbon into organic carbon
molecules. Photosynthesis occurs in plants when the RuBisCO enzyme reacts with carbon
dioxide. But what if the RuBisCO enzyme reacts with oxygen? then, that is how
photorespiration occur, which is a metabolic pathway that reduces photosynthetic efficiency
and produces no chemical energy or food. In this topic, we will learn how plants evolved to
suppress photorespiration during hot and dry conditions and how photosynthesis varies
depending on the environment in which the plants live.
C3 plants are defined as a common plant that does not consist of any photosynthetic
adaptations to reduce photorespiration during hot and dry conditions. This plant use fixation
of the carbon dioxide (Calvin Cycle) by RuBisCO. Approximately 85% of the plants
are C3 plants, including rice, wheat, soybeans, and all trees. In C4 plants, the light-
dependent reactions and the Calvin cycle are physically divided. In this, the light-dependent
reactions take place in the mesophyll cells. The mesophyll cell is spongy tissue present in
the middle of the leaf. While the Calvin cycle occurs in special cells around the leaf veins.
These cells are known as bundle-sheath cells. This plant use fixation of carbon dioxide by
the PEP carboxylase enzyme. Examples of C4 plants are sugarcane, corn, and Bermuda
grass.
Two Different Photosynthetic Pathway

 C3 pathway- it occurs in mesophyll cells of a c3 plant, which are located just under
the surface of the leaves and tissues. As you can see in figure A, when c3 plant’s
stomata open, CO2 moves in and O2 moves out, but when the temperature rises,
their stomata tend to close, as shown in figure B which makes O2 concentration
tends to be higher than CO2, which a process called photorespiration as mentioned
earlier.
 Figure A Figure B

So how does photosynthesis occur in this

cell?
During c3 photosynthesis, co2 is taken up and
transported directly into the Calvin cycle which is
fixed into 3 carbon molecules called 3-
phosphoglycerate where c3 plants got its name.
The majority of the plants on the earth use this
process. Moreover, this cycle occurs in three
steps:
1. Carboxylation or the carbon fixation: This
step fixates CO2 into a steady organic
intermediate. Here CO2 is used to carboxylate
RuBP which is a compound composed of five atoms of carbon and a phosphate group on
each end. And there is an enzyme called RuBisCO that catalyzes a reaction between
CO2 and RuBP, which forms a six-carbon compound that is immediately converted into two
three-carbon compounds.
2. Reduction: This procedure leads to the creation of glucose. It involves two molecules of
NADPH for reduction and two molecules of ATP for phosphorylation
3. Regeneration: Regeneration of the CO2 acceptor molecule which is necessary for a C3
pathway to continue its operations.

 C4 pathway- During the c4 photosynthesis, As shown in figure A co2 moves into the
mesophyll cell and is immediately fixed into a four-carbon molecule called
oxaloacetate, thus the name c4 plant. But the anatomy of a c4 plant is different from
a c3 plant, in a c4 leaf chloroplast is located at the mesophyll cell but also located at
the bundle sheath cell which surrounds the leaf vein. As shown in figure B Co2
moves from the mesophyll into the bundle sheath cell where the Calvin cycle occurs.
This will shield the plant from the oxygen build-up that would otherwise occur when
the stomata are closed during hot and dry conditions. The C4 pathway acts as a
mechanism to build up high concentrations of carbon dioxide in the chloroplasts of
the bundle sheath cells. The resulting higher level of internal carbon dioxide in these
chloroplasts serves to increase the ratio of carboxylation to oxygenation, thus
minimizing photorespiration.

Figure A Figure B
How C4 photosynthesis works?
Carboxylation takes place in the chloroplast of mesophyll
cells. CO2 entering the stomata is rapidly fixed by an
enzyme called PEP (phosphoenolpyruvate) carboxylase
into a 4-carbon compound, called malate, by attaching the
CO2 to PEP. The malate is then transported deeper into
the leaf tissue to the bundle sheath cells, which are both
far away from the stomata (and thus far away from
oxygen). Once inside the bundle sheath cells, malate is
decarboxylated to release pyruvate and CO2; the CO2 is
then fixed by rubisco as part of the Calvin cycle, just like
in C3 plants. Pyruvate then returns to the mesophyll cells,
where a phosphate from ATP is used to regenerate PEP.
Thus, in C4 plants, C4 carbon fixation has a net added
cost of 1 ATP for every CO2 delivered to rubisco; however, C4 plants are less likely to die of
dehydration compared to C3 plants in dry conditions.
SUMMARY

C3 PLANTS C4 PLANTS
The first stable intermediate product is 3- The first stable intermediate product is a 4-
carbon acid-phosphoglyceric acid. carbon acid-oxaloacetate (which is then
reduced to malate)
Photosynthetic functions occur only in Photosynthetic functions occur in both
mesophyll cells-on the surface of the leaves mesophyll and bundle sheath cells.
C3 requires cool and wet environments. C4 requires a tropical and dry environment
Carbon fixation occurs only once Carbon fixation occurs twice
All the steps of dark reaction take place in The initial steps are carried out in mesophyll
mesophyll cells cells and the subsequent steps are carried
out in bundle-sheath cells
Photorespiration is not suppressed Photorespiration is not suppressed
Photosynthesis occurs when stomata are Photosynthesis occurs even when stomata
open are closed