Question

NATIONAL CENTER FOR CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SCIENCE Part IV- CAM Pathway "Abbic, you were in Baja California recently when you were on that cruise to collect deep sea samples righ? What photosynthetic pathway were the plants in that area using" "I sure didn't see trees like we have in Rhode Island in Baja California because I was in the Sonoran for your research, plans that use the C, and C, photosynthetic pathways, but they had major modifications, such as very small leaves or sunken stomates to reduce water loss. Most of the plans in that area and other arid areas use the CAM photosynthetic pathway." "1 remember chat one Abbiel I abo remember the intro bio exam question about plants using the CAM photosynthetic pathway. The professor asked which photosynthetic pathway a plant growing o be using. power lines in Central Texas would "I think he also had something in the question about the plant not having roots that reach the ground.-" "1 think so. The plant would only get water when it rained. A power line would be a very arid environmentd Do you remember why the plants using the CAM photosynthetic pathway are so good at conserving water" Questions 1. Why are plants using the CAM photosynthetic pathway so good at conserving water? 2. Plants using the CAM pathway occur in many locations but are most common in very arid locations, such as deserts. What deserts occur in North America and where are these deserts located? Case copprighe held by the Nasional Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, Universiy at Buiialo, Seane University of New York. Originaly published August 24.3017,Please see our usage guidelines, which outline our policy concerning permissible repreduction of chis work Licensed phoco in ti le block O Andrey Simonenko l Dreamstime, iD 93092468. A Colorfil Pienic with Phceosyntheric Pathways and RaBisCO on the Mcnu' by David J.Grisé

Answer 1

1. The very peculiar thing about CAM plants is that they do not photosynthesise during the day .

Their Stomata remains closed during the day .

During the night ,the Stomata opens and the organic acids are produces .

Again during the next day , Stomata are closed but the plants still photosynthesise using the organic acid .

The benefit is that , during the night time , there is much humidity and temperature is very low , which causes less water loss. That's why CAM plants save a lot of water .

2. There are four major desserts in North America -

• The great basin
• Chihuahua
• Sonoran
• Mojave