Plant Characteristic C3 Pathway C4 Pathway CAM Pathway

Photorespiration High Low / Negligible Very Low / Negligible

Rate
Leaf Anatomy Typical Kranz Xeromorphic
Typical Environments All Tropical, elevated Dry, arid
daytime
temperatures,
drought
Stoma Open During Yes Yes No
the Day?
Number of Steps in 1 2 2
Pathway
First Molecule 3-phophoglyceric Malic acid or aspartic Malate
Produced in Pathway acid acid
Uses the Calvin Yes Yes Yes
Cycle?
Thea Marie A. Cabaccan BSB – 1 – YA

C3 PATHWAY

The first molecule created in the cycle, a 3-carbon molecule called 3-phosphoglyceric
acid, gives the C3 pathway its name. The Calvin Cycle is the method used by about
85% of the plants on Earth to fix carbon. The RuBisCO (ribulose bisphosphate
carboxylase/oxygenase) enzyme drives an oxidation reaction during the one-step
process, which results in some of the energy from photosynthesis being lost through a
process known as photorespiration. As a result, the amount of carbon that the plant
fixes and releases back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide is reduced by about
25%. The C4 and CAM plants' carbon fixation pathways have extra steps to help
concentrate and minimize carbon loss during the process.
C4 PATHWAY

The 4-carbon intermediate molecules produced by the C4 process, malic acid or

aspartic acid, give rise to the name Hatch-Slack pathway, which is another name for the
process. The Calvin Cycle is preceded by a step in the pathway for C4, which lowers
the overall process' carbon loss. The malic acid or aspartic acid molecules transport the
carbon dioxide that the plant absorbs to bundle sheath cells (at this point the molecules
are called malate and aspartate). Because bundle sheath cells have a very low oxygen
concentration, the RuBisCO enzymes have a lower propensity to catalyze oxidation
processes and release waste carbon molecules. The Calvin Cycle starts when carbon
dioxide is released in the bundle sheath cells' chloroplasts by the malate and aspartate
molecules. Bundle sheath cells are a component of the anatomy of the Kranz leaf,
which is unique to C4 plants.

CAM PLANTS

Because they live in dry, arid climates, plants that use the crassulacean acid
metabolism, also known as CAM plants, are efficient at storing water. There are more
than 16,000 species of CAM plants on the planet, including cacti, sedum, jade, orchids,
and agave. The word "crassulacean" is derived from the Latin word crassus, which
means "thick." Cacti and other succulent plants have thick, moist leaves that
occasionally have a waxy coating to prevent evaporation. To stop water loss during the
day, CAM plants keep their stomas closed. In order to take in carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere, the stomas are instead opened at night. The carbon dioxide is changed
into a compound called malate, which is then stored until photosynthesis via the Calvin
Cycle can start again when the sun is shining again.
REFERENCES

BD Editors. (2019, October 4). C3, C4 and CAM Plants. Biology Dictionary. Retrieved
September 22, 2022, from https://biologydictionary.net/c3-c4-cam-plants/