C2 photosynthesis generates about 3-fold elevated leaf CO2 levels in the C3–C4 intermediate species Flaveria pubescens

摘要

Formation of a photorespiration-based CO2-concentrating mechanism in C3–C4 intermediate plants is seen as a prerequisite for the evolution of C4 photosynthesis, but it is not known how efficient this mechanism is. Here, using in vivo Rubisco carboxylation-to-oxygenation ratios as a proxy to assess relative intraplastidial CO2 levels is suggested. Such ratios were determined for the C3–C4 intermediate species Flaveria pubescens compared with the closely related C3 plant F. cronquistii and the C4 plant F. trinervia. To this end, a model was developed to describe the major carbon fluxes and metabolite pools involved in photosynthetic–photorespiratory carbon metabolism and used quantitatively to evaluate the labelling kinetics during short-term ¹⁴CO2 incorporation. Our data suggest that the photorespiratory CO2 pump elevates the intraplastidial CO2 concentration about 3-fold in leaves of the C3–C4 intermediate species F. pubescens relative to the C3 species F. cronquistii.