Abstract
Five decades ago, a novel mode of CO2 assimilation that was later described as C4-photosynthesis was discovered on mature leaves of maize (Zea mays L.) plants. Here we show that 3- to 5-day-old developing maize leaves recapitulate the evolutionary advance from the ancient, inefficient C3 mode of photosynthesis to the C4 pathway, a mechanism for overcoming the wasteful process of photorespiration. Chlorophyll fluorescence measurements documented that photorespiration was high in 3-day-old juvenile primary leaves with non-specialized C3-like leaf anatomy and low in 5-day-old organs with the typical “Kranz-anatomy” of C4 leaves. Photosynthetic gas (CO2)-exchange measurements on 5-day-old leaves revealed the characteristic features of C4 photosynthesis, with a CO2 compensation point close to zero and little inhibition of photosynthesis by the normal oxygen concentration in the air. This indicates a very low photorespiratory activity in contrast to control experiments conducted with mature C3 sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) leaves, which display a high rate of photorespiration.
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Abbreviations
- Chl:
-
chlorophyll
- CO2-CP:
-
carbon dioxide compensation point
- ΔF/Fm′:
-
effective quantum yield of PSII of light-adapted leaves
- PSII:
-
photosystem II
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by grants from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH-fellowships 2007/2008, Stanford/USA to U. K.). R.P. (Present address: ICG-3:Phytosphere Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany) was supported by the Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship Program (Nr: 041060 — LIFT).
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Kutschera, U., Pieruschka, R. & Berry, J.A. Leaf development, gas exchange characteristics, and photorespiratory activity in maize seedlings. Photosynthetica 48, 617–622 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-010-0079-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-010-0079-3