NEET2011BotanyPhotosynthesis in Higher PlantsActual
Which of the following statements is correct?
Options
- APhotorespiration is useful process.
- BC ₄ plants are more efficient than C ₃ plants.
- CC ₃ plants are more efficient than C ₄ plants.
- DPhotorespiration is absent in C ₃ plants but present in C ₄ plants.
Correct answer
B. C ₄ plants are more efficient than C ₃ plants.
Step-by-step solution
C₄ plants are more efficient than C₃ plants because they have little photorespiration while in C₃ plants more than half of photosynthetic carbon get lost in photorespiration. C ₄ plants are more efficient in picking up CO ₂ , even in low CO ₂ concentration because of high affinity of CO ₂ with PEP (phosphoenol pyruvic acid).