C4 plants are less than C3 but they are efficient in carrying out the process of photosynthesis. In C3 cycle, the carbon dioxide fixation takes place only at one place. The additional C4 step holds CO2. oxaloacetic acid is not a first stable compound formed in the c4 cycle. Enter your e-mail address, Don’t forget to Activate your Subscription…. C4 cycle is more efficient than C3 cycle in photosynthesis due to the absence of photorespiration. C3 and C4 are two types of plants. C3 Pathway (or Calvin Cycle) C 3 plants are by far the most common type of plant on earth (~95%). Main or the key difference between C3 and C4 is that C3 are found in all photosynthetic plants and C4 are found usually in tropical plants. Phosphoenolpyruate (PE) is the primary CO2 acceptor in C4 cycle. The main difference between C3 and C4 cycle is the first stable compound produced by these reactions; the first stable compound produced in the C3 cycle is a three carbon compound called 3-phosphoglyceric acid (PGA) whereas the first stable compound produced in the C4 cycle is a four carbon compound called oxaloacetic acid (OAA). @media (max-width: 1171px) { .sidead300 { margin-left: -20px; } } C 4 Plants. Likewise, the Calvin cycle occurs cyclically while producing carbohydrates. 2. A feature of C3 grasses is their greater tolerance of frost compared to C4 grasses. C3 Photosynthesis : C3 plants. There is no secondary CO2 acceptor in C3 cycle. C3 cycle requires 18 ATP molecules to synthesize one molecule of glucose. C3 plants are very common while C4 plants are very rare. For a considerable period of time, the Calvin cycle (C3 cycle) was thought to be the only dark reaction pathway in plants. The carbon dioxide compensation point is high in C3 cycle (about 50 ppm). It is a four-carbon compound. 4. Table showing C3 and C4 plants differences. Difference between Mesophyll Chloroplasts and Bundle Sheath Chloroplasts in C4 Plants, Plant Physiology: Difference between Topics, Difference between Mesophyll and Bundle Sheath Cells and Chloroplasts in C4 Plants, Difference between Micronutrients and Macronutrients – Comparison Table, Difference between Photorespiration and Respiration – Comparison Table, Difference between Cyclic and Noncyclic Photophosphorylation – Comparison Table, Difference between the Physiological Effects of Gibberellic Acid and Abscisic Acid – Comparison Table, Difference between Short Day Plants and Long Day Plants – Comparison Table. Differences between C3 and c4 plants: CAM Process (Crassulacean Acid Metabolism) A carbon fixation pathway that evolved in some plants as an adaptation to arid conditions, in which the stomata in the leaves remain shut during the day to reduce evapotranspiration, but open at … ADVERTISEMENTS: The upcoming discussion will update you about the differences between C3 Plants and C4 Plants. There is more abundance of C3 plants as compared to the C4 plants. The data is composed of 3 averages from 18 specimen data sets (6 from each plant) and the unknown plant data. Some C4 plants also function at least partially in C3 or C4 mode. 2008. Differences between C3 and C4 species are shown in Table 1. RuBP is the CO2 acceptor in C3 plants while PEP is the first CO2 acceptor in C4 plants. This process makes the major difference between C 3 and C 4 plants. They mostly live in environments with a moderate amount of sunlight, moderate temperatures and plenty of water, and they use the C 3 carbon fixation pathway (or Calvin cycle) to integrate the CO 2 into a three carbon sugar, hence C 3.. The difference is that the stomata are open at night to have a controlled release of water vapor to drive the upward pull of water and dissolved nutrients in transpiration. All chloroplasts are granal. Main Difference – C3 vs C4 Cycle. C3 can be seen in all photosynthetic plants, while C4 is followed by tropical plants and CAM by Semi-arid condition plants. 1. C3 plants carry out the Calvin cycle and produce three-carbon compound as the first stable product while the C4 plants carry out C4 mechanism and produce four carbon compound as the first stable product. Table 1: Features of C3 and C4 grasses “On the Mechanism of C 4 Photosynthesis Intermediate Exchange between Kranz Mesophyll and Bundle Sheath Cells in Grasses.” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press, 28 Mar. Each type of plant uses an alternative mechanism of carbon fixation that has evolved in hot, arid climates. C4 plants are more productive in hot and dry climates than C3 products because they use 3-fold less water and can grow in conditions of drought or high temperature. Below are the details. Another difference is C3 plants are the most common with making up 95% of plant population and C4 plants make up the remaining 5%. One difference between the two photosynthetic processes is that C3 plants need carbon dioxide, whereas C4 plants only need a limited amount. Examples of C3 plants are Sunflower, Spinach, Beans, Rice, and Cotton while CAM plants are Cacti, orchids and examples of C4 … Difference between C3 and C4 Cycles of Photosynthesis in Plants Calvin Cycles vs Hatch and Slack Cycle Photosynthesis is one of the vital events in the earth in which the green plants fix the energy from the sunlight and synthesis nutrients with carbon dioxide and water. Due to this fact, C assimilation is less in C3 plants while C assimilation is high in C4 plants. -In order to turn C3 plants into C4 plants we need to remove the Scarecrow gene from a C4 plant and add it into a C3 plant. CAM plants store carbon dioxide as an acid before using it in photosynthesis. For C3 and C4 plants, the stomata are open during the day. Ø  Both C3 and C4 cycle requires RuBP and RUBISCO to complete the pathway. C 3 Plants. Examples of C3 plants: Wheat, Rye, Oats, Rice, Cotton, Sunflower, Chlorella. Figure 1. 1. First […] The key difference between mesophyll and bundle sheath cells is that in C4 plants, light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis take place in the mesophyll cells, while light-independent reactions or Calvin cycle take place in the bundle sheath cells.. C4 plants are a group of plants that carry out C4 photosynthesis or C4 carbon fixation. C3 Plants: 1. It is because of the occurrence of photorespiration in C3 plants. C 4 plants use the C 4 carbon fixation pathway to increase their photosynthetic efficiency by reducing or suppressing photorespiration, which mainly occurs under low atmospheric CO 2 concentration, high light, high temperature, drought, and salinity. In fact, it is the first stable product of the C3 plants. The major difference in C4 and CAM plants is when and where the carbon fixation initially occurs. Side by Side Comparison – C3 vs C4 Plants in Tabular Form Available here, 1.”Simplified photorespiration diagram”By Rachel Purdon – Own work, (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia  And, this CO2 again fixes for the second time with Ribulose bisphosphate, to form 2 phosphoglycerate to carry out Calvin cycle. In Table 2 can be seen the differences in the percentage volume of air space of total leaf volume in C3 and C4 monocotyledonous species. Biology is brought to you with support from the Amgen Foundation. In C4 plants, the light and dark reactions of the photosynthesis are physically separated and completed in two different locations. About 95% of the plants on earth are C3 plants. Difference between C3 and C4 Plants. Difference between C3 cycle and C4 cycle: Your email address will not be published. C4 photosynthesis is thought to have arisen nearly 12 million years ago; long after the evolution of C3 mechanism. Species: Cactuses and other succulents, Clusia, tequila agave, pineapple. Photorespiration occurs due to the oxygenase activity of Rubisco enzyme. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more … Fixing carbon is the way plants remove the carbon from atmospheric carbon dioxide and turn it into organic molecules like carbohydrates. Atmospheric concentration of oxygen (21%) reduces the rate of photosynthesis which is optimum at 2-4% O2 concentration. As a result of photolysis of water, oxygen liberates as a byproduct. First stable product in C3 cycle is a 3 carbon (3C, hence the name) compound – Phosphoglyceric Acid (PGA). The complete steps of C3 cycle are executed in the mesophyll cells only. Later, a new pathway of dark reaction called Hatch and Slack pathway or C4 cycle was described in some plants. C3 cycle is less efficient in Photosynthetic energy fixation due to the presence of photorespiration. The occurrence of photorespiration in C3 cycle, second in bundle sheath cells the CO2! 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