Eragrostis walteri (Poaceae), a grass with C3 foliar anatomy in an otherwise C4 genus and subfamily, has long been thought to be an exceptional example of the rare evolutionary reversion from C4 to C3 photosynthesis. Ingram et al. refute this hypothesis through phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data, which demonstrate that E. walteri has been misclassified and in fact belongs in the C3 Arundinoideae.
By the year 2100, atmospheric CO2 concentration ([CO2]a) could reach 800 ppm, having risen from ~200 ppm since the Neogene, beginning ~24 Myr ago. Changing [CO2]a affects plant carbon–water balance, with implications...
One of the Grand Challenges – and, arguably, the Holy Grail – of plant research at present is an attempt to improve the photosynthetic efficiency of plants. Somewhat surprisingly, the fundamental photosynthetic pathway...
C4 photosynthesis may have evolved first to correct an intercellular nitrogen imbalance, and only later evolved a central role in carbon fixation.
Copyright © 2010 - 2024.
botanyone
Alex Assiry
Nigel Chaffey
AJ Cann