Crassulacean Acid Metabolism and Diurnal Variations of Internal CO2 and O2 Concentrations in Sedum praealtum DC

1979 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 557 ◽  
Author(s):  
MH Spalding ◽  
DK Stumpf ◽  
MSB Ku ◽  
RH Burris ◽  
GE Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Malic Acid ◽  
Crassulacean Acid Metabolism ◽  
Acid Metabolism ◽  
Dark Period ◽  
Stomatal Closure ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
Co2 Exchange ◽  
C3 Plants ◽  
Cam Plants ◽  
Internal Co2

Internal CO2 and O2 concentrations in Sedum praealtum DC. were determined by gas chromatography of 200-�l gas samples. Day-night monitoring showed that internal CO2 varied from a high of approximately 4000 �l/l during periods of daytime stomatal closure to a low of 270-280 �l/l during the dark period (stomata open). Internal O2 concentrations varied from a high of approximately 26 % at midday to a low of 20.8 % during the dark period. The calculated internal O2/CO2 ratio varied about 12-15-fold from 50-60 near midday to approximately 750 during the dark period (ratio in normal air is roughly 600). Day-night patterns of CO2 exchange and malic acid concentration were typical for a plant with crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM). Influx of CO2 during the late light period was inhibited by O2, but dark CO2 influx was O2-insensitive. Gas samples taken near midday from several CAM plants all showed elevated internal CO2 and O2 concentrations. Ratios of O2/CO2 in these plants ranged from 81 in Sedum praealtum to 285 in Hoya carnosa. The highest internal O2 concentration observed was 41.5% in Kalanchoe gastonis-bonnieri. The high CO2 concentration in leaves of CAM plants during daytime stomatal closure should provide a near- saturating level of this substrate for photosynthesis. In comparison to C3 plants, the relatively low O2/CO2 ratio in the CAM leaf during malic acid decarboxylation should be favourable for photosynthesis and unfavourable for O2 inhibition of photosynthesis.

scholarly journals Silencing PHOSPHOENOLPYRUVATE CARBOXYLASE1 in the Obligate Crassulacean Acid Metabolism Species Kalanchoë laxiflora causes Reversion to C3-like Metabolism and Amplifies Rhythmicity in a Subset of Core Circadian Clock Genes

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanna F. Boxall ◽  
Nirja Kadu ◽  
Louisa V. Dever ◽  
Jana Kneřová ◽  
Jade L. Waller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Guard Cell ◽  
Crassulacean Acid Metabolism ◽  
Acid Metabolism ◽  
Clock Genes ◽  
Dark Period ◽  
Stomatal Closure ◽  
Delayed Fluorescence ◽  
Light Period ◽  
Cam Plants ◽  
Circadian Clock Genes

ABSTRACTUnlike C3 plants, Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plants fix CO2 in the dark using phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PPC; EC 4.1.1.31). PPC combines PEP with CO2 (as HCO3−), forming oxaloacetate that is rapidly converted to malate, leading to vacuolar malic acid accumulation that peaks phased to dawn. In the light period, malate decarboxylation concentrates CO2 around RuBisCO for secondary fixation. CAM mutants lacking PPC have not been described. Here, RNAi was employed to silence CAM isogene PPC1 in Kalanchoë laxiflora. Line rPPC1-B lacked PPC1 transcripts, PPC activity, dark period CO2 fixation, and nocturnal malate accumulation. Light period stomatal closure was also perturbed, and the plants displayed reduced but detectable dark period stomatal conductance, and arrhythmia of the CAM CO2 fixation circadian rhythm under constant light and temperature (LL) free-running conditions. By contrast, the rhythm of delayed fluorescence was enhanced in plants lacking PPC1. Furthermore, a subset of gene transcripts within the central circadian oscillator were up-regulated and oscillated robustly. The regulation guard cell genes involved controlling stomatal movements was also altered in rPPC1-B. This provided direct evidence that altered regulatory patterns of key guard cell signaling genes are linked with the characteristic inverse pattern of stomatal opening and closing during CAM.

Functional leaf anatomy of plants with crassulacean acid metabolism

2005 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Nelson ◽  
Tammy L. Sage ◽  
Rowan F. Sage
Keyword(s):  
Crassulacean Acid Metabolism ◽  
Acid Metabolism ◽  
Internal Resistance ◽  
C3 Plants ◽  
Cam Plants ◽  
Internal Co2 ◽  
Low Exposure ◽  
Cam Species ◽  
Diffusional Barrier ◽  
Carbon Economy

Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) has evolved independently on dozens of occasions and is now found in over 7% of plant species. In this study, the leaf structure of a phylogenetically diverse assemblage of 18 CAM plants was compared with six C3 plants and four C4 plants to assess whether consistent anatomical patterns that may reflect functional constraints are present. CAM plants exhibited increased cell size and increased leaf and mesophyll thickness relative to C3 and C4 species. CAM species also exhibited reduced intercellular air space (IAS) and reduced length of mesophyll surface exposed to IAS per unit area (Lmes / area). The low volume of IAS and low exposure of mesophyll surface to IAS likely increases internal resistance to CO2 in CAM tissues. While this diffusional barrier may limit uptake of CO2 during Phases II and IV, carbon economy could be enhanced through the reduced loss of internal CO2 during all four phases of CAM.

Glycolysis in CAM Plants

1975 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 389 ◽  
Author(s):  
BG Sutton
Keyword(s):  
Malic Acid ◽  
Crassulacean Acid Metabolism ◽  
Acid Metabolism ◽  
Amylase Activity ◽  
Acid Synthesis ◽  
Glycolytic Enzyme ◽  
Kinetic Characteristics ◽  
Cam Plants ◽  
Pep Carboxylase ◽  
High Level

Enzymes involved in the movement of carbon from glucan to malic acid in the crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plant, Kalanchoe daigremontiana were assayed. The kinetic characteristics determined for the enzymes from this plant were similar to those already known for the same enzymes from non-CAM tissue. °-Amylase activity could not be demonstrated in the CAM leaf and glucokinase activity was low. These results, together with a high level of phosphorylase, suggested that the latter enzyme was involved in trasfer of glucan breakdown products to glycolysis. The activity of pyruvate kinase was only 1.7% of the activity of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxylase, suggesting that pyruvate production from PEP at night posed little drain on PEP supply for malic acid synthesis. Starch losses and glycolytic enzyme activities of non-CAM plants were sufficient to allow dark acidification comparable to that of CAM plants.

Nocturnal Uptake and Assimilation of Nitrogen Dioxide by C3 and CAM Plants

2005 ◽  
Vol 60 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 279-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Misa Takahashi ◽  
Daisuke Konaka ◽  
Atsushi Sakamoto ◽  
Hiromichi Morikawa
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Crassulacean Acid Metabolism ◽  
Acid Metabolism ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Hibiscus Cannabinus ◽  
C3 Plants ◽  
High Uptake ◽  
Cam Plants ◽  
Aloe Arborescens ◽  
Kjeldahl Nitrogen

Abstract In order to investigate nocturnal uptake and assimilation of NO2 by C3 and crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plants, they were fumigated with 4 μl I-115N-Iabeled nitrogen diox­ide (NO2) for 8 h. The amound of NO2 and assimilation of NO2by plants were determined by mass spectrometry and Kjeldahl-nitrogen based mass spectrometry, respectively. C3 plants such as kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and ground cherry (Phy- salis alkekengi) showed a high uptake and assimilation during daytime as high as 1100 to 2700 ng N mg-1 dry weight. While tobacco and ground cherry strongly reduced uptake and assimilation of NO2 during nighttime, kenaf kept high nocturnal uptake and assimilation of NO2 as high as about 1500 ng N mg-1 dry weight. Stomatal conductance measurements indicated that there were no significant differences to account for the differences in the uptake of NO2 by tobacco and kenaf during nighttime. CAM plants such as Sedum sp., Kalanchoe blossfeldiana (kalanchoe) and Aloe arborescens exhibited nocturnal uptake and assimilation of NO2. However, the values of uptake and assimilation of NO2 both during daytime and nighttime was very low (at most about 500 ng N mg-1 dry weight) as compared with those of above mentioned C3 plants. The present findings indicate that kenaf is an efficient phytoremediator of NO2 both during daytime and nighttime.

Protection by light against heat stress in leaves of tropical crassulacean acid metabolism plants containing high acid levels

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (11) ◽  
pp. 1061 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Heinrich Krause ◽  
Klaus Winter ◽  
Barbara Krause ◽  
Aurelio Virgo
Keyword(s):  
Heat Tolerance ◽  
Malic Acid ◽  
Tissue Damage ◽  
Crassulacean Acid Metabolism ◽  
Acid Metabolism ◽  
Elevated Temperatures ◽  
Sun Exposure ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Heat Treatments ◽  
Cam Plants

Heat tolerance of plants exhibiting crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) was determined by exposing leaf sections to a range of temperatures both in the dark and the light, followed by measuring chlorophyll a fluorescence (Fv/Fm and F0) and assessing visible tissue damage. Three CAM species, Clusia rosea Jacq., Clusia pratensis Seem. and Agave angustifolia Haw., were studied. In acidified tissues sampled at the end of the night and exposed to elevated temperatures in the dark, the temperature that caused a 50% decline of Fv/Fm (T50), was remarkably low (40−43°C in leaves of C. rosea). Conversion of chlorophyll to pheophytin indicated irreversible tissue damage caused by malic acid released from the vacuoles. By contrast, when acidified leaves were illuminated during heat treatments, T50 was up to 50−51°C. In de-acidified samples taken at the end of the light period, T50 reached ∼54°C, irrespective of whether temperature treatments were done in the dark or light. Acclimation of A. angustifolia to elevated daytime temperatures resulted in a rise of T50 from ∼54° to ∼57°C. In the field, high tissue temperatures always occur during sun exposure. Measurements of the heat tolerance of CAM plants that use heat treatments of acidified tissue in the dark do not provide relevant information on heat tolerance in an ecological context. However, in the physiological context, such studies may provide important clues on vacuolar properties during the CAM cycle (i.e. on the temperature relationships of malic acid storage and malic acid release).

The Gluconeogenic Metabolism of Pyruvate During Deacidification in Plants With Crassulacean Acid Metabolism

1981 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAM Holtum ◽  
CB Osmond
Keyword(s):  
Crassulacean Acid Metabolism ◽  
Acid Metabolism ◽  
Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle ◽  
Mesembryanthemum Crystallinum ◽  
C3 Plants ◽  
Cam Plants ◽  
Mesophyll Cells ◽  
14Co2 Fixation ◽  
Cam Plant ◽  
Pep Carboxykinase

Pyruvate, PI dikinase (EC 2.7.9.1) was present in crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plants that lack phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase (EC 4.1.1.32) but was not detected in plants that contain PEP carboxykinase or in C3 plants. It is suggested that, during deacidification in CAM plants that contain NAD and NADP malic enzymes (EC 1.1.1.38 and EC 1.1.1.40) but not PEP carboxykinase, pyruvate, P*i dikinase reverses the glycolytic reaction catalysed by pyruvate kinase (EC 2.7.1.40) and converts pyruvate to PEP as the first step in the gluconeogenic conservation of pyruvate as storage carbohydrate. The enzyme is not required by CAM plants that contain PEP carboxykinase and produce mainly PEP during decarboxylation. Leaf slices from Kalanchoe daigremontiana and CAM Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, two species that possess pyruvate, PI dikinase, transfer label from exogenous [3-14C]pyruvate to carbohydrates more rapidly than either Stapelia gigantea, a PEP carboxykinase CAM plant, or C3 Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, which lack the dikinase. Label from [2-14C]- and [3-14C]pyruvate is converted to carbohydrate at the same rate in K. daigremontiana while in S. gigantea label from [2-14C]pyruvate accumulates in carbohydrates twice as rapidly as label from [3-14C]pyruvate. The patterns observed for K. daigremontiana and for CAM M. crystallinum are consistent with the gluconeogenic anabolism of pyruvate whereas the patterns observed for S. gigantea and for C.3 M. crystallinum suggest pyruvate is oxidized possibly via the tricarboxylic acid cycle in these species. Deacidification in Aloe arborescens, a PEP carboxykinase CAM plant that also possesses NAD and NADP malic enzyme activity, was inhibited 80% by 0.1 mM 3-mercaptopicolinic acid (3-MPA), an inhibitor of PEP carboxykinase. It is thus likely that, in this species and probably also in other CAM plants with high PEP carboxykinase activities, a small proportion of the malic acid may be decarboxylated by malic enzymes. However, as 0.5 mM 3-MPA inhibited deacidification in K. daigremontiana by 40%, the inhibitor is probably only specific at low concentrations. 14CO2 fixation in the light by mesophyll cells isolated from K. daigremontiana was stimulated by 20-50% in the presence of 10 mM pyruvate, but there was no increase in 14CO2 fixation by mesophyll cells isolated from S. gigantea.

Regulation of malic-acid metabolism in Crassulacean-acid-metabolism plants in the dark and light: In-vivo evidence from 13C-labeling patterns after 13CO2 fixation

Planta ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 175 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. B. Osmond ◽  
J. A. M. Holtum ◽  
M. H. O'Leary ◽  
C. Roeske ◽  
O. C. Wong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Malic Acid ◽  
Crassulacean Acid Metabolism ◽  
Acid Metabolism ◽  
13C Labeling

Degrees of crassulacean acid metabolism in tropical epiphytic and lithophytic ferns

1999 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 749 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph A.M. Holtum ◽  
Klaus Winter
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Isotope ◽  
Crassulacean Acid Metabolism ◽  
Acid Metabolism ◽  
Dark Period ◽  
Titratable Acidity ◽  
Isotope Ratios ◽  
Light Period ◽  
Co2 Uptake ◽  
Carbon Isotope Ratios ◽  
Net Co2 Uptake

Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) was observed in three species of tropical ferns, the epiphytes Microsorium punctatum and Polypodium crassifolium and the lithophyte Platycerium veitchii. Polypodium crassifolium and P. veitchii exhibited characteristics of weak CAM. Although no net nocturnal CO2 uptake was observed, the presence of CAM was inferred from nocturnal increases in titratable acidity of 4.7 and 4.1 µequiv (g fr wt)–1 respectively, a reduction in the rates of net CO2 evolution during the first half of the dark period, and the presence of a CAM-like decrease in net CO2 uptake during the early light period. In M. punctatum net CO2 uptake during the first half of the dark period was accompanied by an increase in titratable acidity of 39.2 µequiv (g fr wt)–1 and a pronounced reduction in net CO2 uptake during the early light period. When water was withheld from P. crassifolium and M. punctatum, net CO2 uptake during the light was reduced markedly but there was no change in the extent or patterns of CO2 exhange in the dark. As a consequence, the proportion of carbon gained due to CO2 fixation in the dark increased from 2.8 and 10% to 63.5 and 49.3%, respectively (100% being net CO2 uptake during the light plus the estimated CO2 uptake during the dark). After 9 days without added water, dark CO2 uptake was responsible for the maintenance of a net 24 h carbon gain in P. crassifolium. Platycerium veitchii, P. crassifolium and M. punctatum exhibited carbon isotope ratios of between –25.9 and –22.6‰ indicating that carbon isotope ratios may not, by themselves, be sufficient for the identification of weak CAM. We suggest that CAM may be more prevalent in tropical epiphytic and lithophytic ferns than currently envisaged.

How to tell the time: the regulation of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase in Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plants

2003 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 728-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.G. Nimmo
Keyword(s):  
Circadian Rhythms ◽  
Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxylase ◽  
Crassulacean Acid Metabolism ◽  
Acid Metabolism ◽  
Circadian Oscillator ◽  
Cam Plants ◽  
Reversible Phosphorylation ◽  
Circadian Expression ◽  
Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxylase Kinase ◽  
Co2 Metabolism

Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plants exhibit persistent circadian rhythms of CO2 metabolism. These rhythms are driven by changes in the flux through phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, which is regulated by reversible phosphorylation in response to a circadian oscillator. This article reviews progress in our understanding of the circadian expression of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase kinase.

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