Lesson 3B Photosynthesis Machinery- C3, C4 and CAM Pathways + ImageJ Compound Leaf Area  11APRIL2022
Channel: ScenseMe
Date: 11/04/2022

The main difference between C3 C4 and CAM photosynthesis is that C3 photosynthesis produces a three-carbon compound via the Calvin cycle, and C4 photosynthesis produces an intermediate four-carbon compound, which split into a three-carbon compound for the Calvin cycle, whereas CAM photosynthesis gathers sunlight during the day and fix carbon dioxide at night. Furthermore, the majority of plants undergo C3 photosynthesis, while C4 photosynthesis occurs in around 3% of vascular plants, including crabgrass, sugarcane, corn, etc. Meanwhile, CAM photosynthesis occurs in plants adapted to dry environments, including cacti and pineapples. 

C3, C4, and CAM photosynthesis are three types of photosynthesis pathways with different modes of Calvin cycles. They have different mechanisms to combat photorespiration. C3 plants do not have special features to combat photorespiration, while C4 plants minimize photorespiration by performing carbon dioxide fixation and Calvin cycle in separate cells. CAM plants, on the other hand, minimize photorespiration by performing carbon dioxide fixation and Calvin cycle at separate times.

At the end, we see how to quantify leaf area of a compound leaf from tapioca plant Manihot esculenta using ImageJ freehand selection and threshold method

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