Photosynthetic efficiency in species with C3 and C4 metabolisms

Abstract

Beans and corn are very important crops in terms of human nutrition worldwide, however each of them has its particularities, especially in the characteristics of photosynthetic metabolism (energy production), which are C3 and C4, respectively. According to studies in the field of physiology of higher plants, the C4 metabolism is an evolution of the C3 metabolism, being, according to the literature, more efficient from the photosynthetic point of view. The present work was based on the following question: In fact, is C4 metabolism more efficient than C3 from the point of view of energy production?. Thus, this work aimed to quantify and compare the photosynthetic potential of species with C3 and C4 metabolisms. The results of this study, therefore, pointed to C3 metabolism as the major energy producer in the photosynthetic process. On the other hand, it considered that the relationship between the energy produced and the energy stored in grains was higher in the C4 metabolism culture, that can change from species to species.