Plant Biochemistry

Presentation topic : CAM photosynthesis

pathway
Submitted to : mam Mehtab
Group members : Asmat ara
Hasnain Usman
Hurain Bibi
Ibrar Khan
Reg no : 05, 06, 07, 08
Outline…
• CAM pathway
• Process of CAM Photosynthesis
• Significance of CAM pathway
• Summary
• CAM (Crassulacean Acid Metabolism)
Pathway: 
• Photorespiration is an inefficient metabolic pathway through
which a lot of energy is lost.
• Photorespiration begins when RUBISCO takes up oxygen
instead of carbon dioxide. In order to reduce the loss of water,
C3 plants close their stomata (pores present in leaves).
Photorespiration takes place during this time.
• C3 plants lose an enormous amount of energy through
photorespiration. In order to avoid energy loss through
photorespiration, certain plants adapt themselves to C4 and
CAM pathways. In C3 plants, approximately 25 % of
photosynthesis is lost through photorespiration. 
CAM pathway is found
in Crassulaceae,
Cactaceae, Agavaceae
and Orchidaceae
family of plants. Plants
like cacti, orchids, and
pineapple are found to
exhibit CAM pathway.
The stomata of these
plants are observed to
be scotoactive.
 Process of CAM pathway
• CAM plants adapt themselves to survive under extreme
drought/dry conditions. CAM pathway involves two important
steps. 
1. Acidification 
• Deacidification 
Acidification: 
• Acidification occurs during the night. In darkness, the glycolysis
process converts stored carbohydrates into phosphoenol pyruvate
(PEP). As the stomata of CAM plants remain open during the
night, atmospheric carbon dioxide diffuses into the leaves. CAM
plants fix the carbon dioxide using PEP. PEP gets carboxylated, and
oxalo acetic acid (OAA) is produced.
•This reaction is
catalyzed by PEP
carboxylase. The OAA
is then converted  into
malic acid in the
presence of malic
dehydrogenase
enzyme. NADPH
produced during
glycolysis is used for
this reaction. Malic
acid gets accumulated
in the vacuole and
causes an increase in
the acidity of the
cells. 
• Deacidification: 
• The deacidification process occurs during the day. In order to
prevent water loss, stomata remain closed during the day.
• At this time, malic acid undergoes decarboxylation to
produce pyruvate and carbon dioxide.
• This reaction is catalyzed by malic enzyme. As malic acid is
decarboxylated to pyruvate, there is a decrease in the acidity
of the cell. Therefore, this process is termed deacidification.
• Pyruvate is either used for the regeneration of PEP or
converted into carbon dioxide through Kreb’s cycle.  
. Carbon dioxide
produced during the
deacidification of
malic acid enters the
C3 cycle and aids the
production of
carbohydrates.
 Significance of CAM pathway
• In order to reduce water loss in CAM plants, stomata remain
closed during the day and open at night. Using this
adaptation, CAM plants survive in extremely dry conditions.
 
• CAM plants carry out carbon dioxide fixation in the dark.
Hence, they are able to survive in light for a longer time
without the uptake of carbon dioxide.
 
• When stomata remain closed, succulent plants obtain carbon
dioxide from malic acid. .
 
• When stomata remain closed, succulent plants obtain carbon
dioxide from malic acid. 
• CAM plants uptake carbon dioxide during the night. This limits
photosynthesis. In addition, stored carbohydrates and organic
acids also limit the photosynthesis process. Hence, the growth
of CAM plants is generally slow. 
• CAM plants are drought resistant. They possess xerophytic
adaptations (For example: thick fleshy leaves). 
 sumarry
•  Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM) pathway is a special type of carbon
fixation pathway. It is observed in plants that grow in dry, semi-arid, or
xerophytic conditions.
• • In order to survive in dry conditions, plants adapt to the CAM pathway.
Plants avoid photorespiration by using the CAM pathway.
• • CAM pathway involves two important steps – acidification and
deacidification
• • In order to reduce water loss, the stomata of CAM plants remain closed
during the day and open at night.
• • Atmospheric carbon dioxide is fixed in the form of malic acid during the
night. This process is known as acidification.
• • During the daytime, stored malic acid is broken down to release carbon
dioxide. This process is known as deacidification.