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JXB Advance Access originally published online on February 5, 2008
Journal of Experimental Botany 2008 59(7):1841-1850; doi:10.1093/jxb/erm346
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© The Author [2008]. Published by Oxford University Press [on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology]. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

RESEARCH PAPER

Functional constraints of CAM leaf anatomy: tight cell packing is associated with increased CAM function across a gradient of CAM expression

Elizabeth A. Nelson1,* and Rowan F. Sage2

1Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, 33 Willcocks Street, Toronto ON, M5S 3B3, Canada
2Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto ON, M5S 3B2, Canada

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: liz.nelson{at}utoronto.ca

Increased cell size, increased leaf succulence, reduced intercellular air space (IAS), and reduced surface of mesophyll exposed to IAS (Lmes/area) are traits associated with the Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) photosynthetic pathway. An examination was carried out to determine whether these anatomical and structural traits are related to the degree of CAM function in eight CAM species, as measured by CO2 assimilation during the CAM and C3 phases. Increased cell size and leaf succulence were not closely related to the degree of CAM function, indicating that succulence beyond a certain threshold does not enhance CAM function. Reduced IAS and Lmes/area were positively related to CAM function, and negatively related to C3 function. These results indicate that reduced IAS and Lmes/area are beneficial for CAM function through the reduction of CO2 efflux and the improvement of carbon economy. However, reduced IAS and Lmes/area limit C3 photosynthesis, potentially mediating a bimodal distribution of weak and strong CAM species with high and low IAS and Lmes/area values, respectively.

Key words: Crassulacean acid metabolism, evolution, leaf anatomy, photosynthesis

Received 20 November 2007; Revised 6 December 2007 Accepted 10 December 2007


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