C4 carbon fixation or the Hatch–Slack pathway is one of three known photosynthetic processes of carbon fixation in plants. It owes the names to the 1960s discovery by See more

The first experiments indicating that some plants do not use C3 carbon fixation but instead produce malate and aspartate in the first step of carbon fixation were done in the 1950s … See more

C4 plants often possess a characteristic leaf anatomy called kranz anatomy, from the German word for wreath. Their vascular bundles are … See more

In C3 plants, the first step in the light-independent reactions of photosynthesis is the fixation of CO2 by the enzyme RuBisCO to form 3-phosphoglycerate. However, RuBisCo has a dual carboxylase and oxygenase activity. Oxygenation results in part of the … See more

To meet the NADPH and ATP demands in the mesophyll and bundle sheath, light needs to be harvested and shared between two distinct electron transfer chains. ATP may be produced in the bundle sheath mainly through cyclic electron flow around See more

Different formulations of efficiency are possible depending on which outputs and inputs are considered. For instance, average quantum efficiency is the ratio between gross assimilation and either absorbed or incident light intensity. Large variability of … See more

C4 plants have a competitive advantage over plants possessing the more common C3 carbon fixation pathway under conditions of drought, high temperatures, and nitrogen or CO2 limitation. When grown in the same environment, at 30 °C, C3 grasses lose … See more