AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -CAM plants are the plants, which fix carbon dioxide by CAM pathway or Crassulacean acid metabolism. It was first discovered in the plants of the Crassulaceae family. They are present in dry and arid environments.

Detailed explanation-2: -CAM plants are typically dominant in very hot, dry areas, like deserts.

Detailed explanation-3: -C4 plants occur more commonly in desert conditions because they do not have to keep their stomata open as long.

Detailed explanation-4: -C4 plants are so called because the first product of CO2 fixation is a C4 organic acid, oxaloacetate, formed by the carboxylation of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) by PEP carboxylase. The oxaloacetate is converted to other C4 acids (malate or aspartate) and transferred to the bundle sheath.

Detailed explanation-5: -The main difference between C4 and CAM plants is the way they minimize water loss. C4 plants relocate the CO2 molecules to minimize photorespiration while CAM plants choose when to extract CO2 from the environment. Photorespiration is a process that occurs in plants where oxygen is added to RuBP instead of CO2.