Question
Question: sugar cane has a high efficiency of carbon dioxide fixation because it performs (a)Calvin cycle ...
sugar cane has a high efficiency of carbon dioxide fixation because it performs
(a)Calvin cycle
(b)EMP pathway
(c)hatch and slack pathway
(d)TCA cycle
Solution
The metabolic pathway in plants where carbon fixation is done in bundle sheath cells by the enzyme RuBisCO. This is seen in C4 plants such as sugar cane.
Complete answer:
Sugar cane can grow in dry tropical regions. Plants in these regions are adapted to perform the C4 pathway. They are called C4 plants. These plants have a high affinity for carbon fixation because they perform the C4 pathway which is also known as Hatch and Slack pathway.
Other examples of plants that perform C4 Pathway are maize, sorghum, corn. Etc.
Additional Information: -C4plants have special leaf anatomy and they can tolerate higher temperatures and can show responses to high light intensities.
- Photorespiration, a process generally found in C3 plants is absent in C4 plants.
- Production of biomass is more in C4 plants
- C4 plants have the 4 carbon compound oxaloacetic acid which is the first carbon dioxide fixation product.
- C4 plants have a special type of Anatomical feature called Kranz Anatomy where vascular cells are surrounded by large cells called bundle sheath cells.
- Bundle sheath cells have a large number of chloroplasts, thick walls, no intracellular spaces and contain an enzyme called RuBiSco.
- Enzyme PEP carboxylase helps in carbon fixation in the mesophyll cells. C4 plants lack this enzyme, so carbon fixation is performed by the enzyme RuBisCO present in the bundle sheath cells.
- The 4-carbon oxaloacetic acid is converted into malic acid or aspartic acid which is transported into bundle sheath cells where these acids are broken down into carbon dioxide and 3 carbon compounds.
So, the correct answer is the 'Hatch and Slack pathway'.
Note: The Calvin pathway occurs in mesophyll cells in C3 plants and in C4 plants it occurs in bundle sheath cells.
RuBisCO - Ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase.
Crassulacean Acid Metabolism(CAM) is an alternative pathway for C3 and C4 pathways for carbon dioxide fixation. It is found in plants that grow in hot and dry environments. Ex: plants belong to the Crassulaceae family ex: cacti.