Could you provide any scientific data on the type of photosynthesis the Moringa species perform?
Hi,
I do not have the exact data you requested, but it is probably C3.
Generally speaking, arborescent plant is rarely to be C4 or CAM.
Additionally, there is some article measuring stomatal conductance in light condition, which means that Moringa is not CAM.
https://academic.oup.com/treephys/article/38/11/1640/5076120
CAM is conveniently assessed using pH test paper.
Also its leaf anatomy showing much of the intercellular space indicates this plant is not C4.
Article Moringa oleifera (Horseradish Tree) Leaf Adaptation to Tempe...
Does this information help your idea about Moringa?
Thank you for the comment. Yes, you are right, but the person who is native to the region where Moringa occurs insisted that it belongs to CAM. I suppose the reason fo such approach is the morphology of the tree and its resistance to drought. I did a preliminary research within the scientific papers, but I did not find any deep insights into Moringa photosynthesis. That is why I decided to share my doubts with the international comunity of researchers :)
Hi,
Thank you for contributing to my knowledge. I have searched the relevant literature for the same and yes, it hasn't been clearly written anywhere that it belongs to CAM or C3. But according to the leaf morphology and plant habit (deciduous tree) it can be inferred that it is C3 plant. Also the literature detailing the specifications of CAM plants didn't match with the Moringa. So, I conclude that it belongs to C3 category.
Functional constraints of CAM leaf anatomy: tight cell packing is associated with increased CAM function across a gradient of CAM expression
https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erm346
I would still try to search more about this from the literature and would also contact the experts once. If I get to know anything more about it will surely try to inform you.
Hope this information would be helpful to you.
Thank you ery much for your participation in discussion. Yes, iIf you find something on the topic, please share it with us. Best regards!
There are cultivars of Monringa that behave like C2 plants and those that behave like C3 plants. You have to read the paper of Ortolá et al., 2021.
C2 plants? C2 is photorespiration. Could you provide a link to the paper? Thank you in advance.
I suspect Ortola et al., 2021 is:
Article Physicochemical Properties of Moringa oleifera Leaves Grown ...
, the C1, C2 and C3 in which refer to the strain numbers, not representing the type of photosynthesis. Is this correct article mentioned above?
Though C2 cycle is photorespiration, C3-C4 intermediate plant is also sometimes called as C2 plant, which is a variation of effective photosynthesis. As you know, C3-C4 intermediate plant can effectively recapture the CO2 released from C2 cycle, because its decarboxylase is localized to the bundle sheath.
On the other hand, this thread reminded me an interesting paper dealing with the photosynthesis in C3 plant stem:
https://www.nature.com/articles/415451a
This article also indicates there may be an evolutionally transient state of C3 and C4 photosynthesis, not necessarily contributing what we usually call a high photosynthetic activity like C4.
Just comment.
Taichi Sugiyama , thank you for the link.
Yes, so-called "C2 photosynthesis" it is a new approach related to the fact, that through photorespiration a part of the captured carbon dioxide pool is incorporated into plant photosynthetic metabolism. See e.g. Article C 2 photosynthesis: a promising route towards crop improvement?
The name is a little bit confusing, however... In biological sciences, we have lots of abbreviations, acronyms etc. They overlap sometimes, which brings a little mess.
Best regards,
Renata
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