Agricultural and Biological Research

Review on structural, physiological and biochemical adaptat on of C4 plants in desert area

Tilaye Aregu Haile*

The C4 plants perform the Calvin cycle in the bundle sheath cells of the leaf veins. They are specifically adapted to photorespiration. These plants are adapted to hot and dry weather conditions and even their stomata open during the day and subsequently close during the night in the absence of light. C4 plants have a distinctive leaf anatomy which means Kranz anatomy, with chloroplast-rich bundle-sheath cells, it performs a gas-tight cylinder surrounding the vascular bundle. The C4 photosynthesis is an adaptation of the C3 pathway that overcomes the limitation of the photorespiration, improving photosynthetic efficiency and minimizing the water loss in hot, dry environments.