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. 1977 Jun;59(6):1133–1135. doi: 10.1104/pp.59.6.1133

Photosynthesis In Elodea canadensis Michx

Four-Carbon Acid Synthesis 1

Dave Degroote a, Robert A Kennedy a
PMCID: PMC542521  PMID: 16660008

Abstract

Experiments to determine the early labeled photosynthetic products in Elodea canadensis show that after 2 seconds of exposure to NaH14CO3, 45% of the 14C incorporated is located in malate and aspartate. Phosphoglyceric acid and sugars account for 27% of the label during similar exposures. Equivalent amounts of organic acids and C3 cycle products are present after 8 seconds. Four-carbon acids remain relatively unchanged throughout the first 45 seconds of exposure, while sugars increase in a linear fashion. Enzyme assays indicate that ribulose diphosphate and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase enzymes are present in a ratio of approximately 2:1. It appears that E. canadensis is able to synthesize significant amounts of four-carbon acids via β-carboxylation and this may play a role in maintaining a pH favorable for carboxylation in aquatic plants.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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