Given below are two statements: Statement I: In the photorespiratory pathway, there is synthesis of ATP but no synthesis of sugars, making it a wasteful process. Statement II: C ₄ plants lack photorespiration because the breakdown of C ₄ acids in the bundle sheath cells increases the intracellular concentration of CO ₂ at the RuBisCO active site. In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from th

Step-by-step solution

Statement I is incorrect because in the photorespiratory pathway, there is neither synthesis of sugars nor of ATP. Rather, it results in the release of CO ₂ with the utilisation of ATP, making it a wasteful process. Statement II is correct because C ₄ plants lack photorespiration due to a mechanism that increases the concentration of CO ₂ at the enzyme site. The C ₄ acid from the mesophyll is broken down in the bundle sheath cells to release CO ₂ , which increases the intracellular concentration of CO ₂ . This ensu