Blades and clades: Why some grasses got better photosynthesis
Wednesday, December 26, 2012 - 09:30
in Biology & Nature
Two groups, or clades, of grasses that once had a common ancestry diverged, ultimately leaving the PACMAD clade more predisposed to evolve a more efficient, "C4" means of photosynthesis when CO2 is restricted than grasses in the BEP clade. In a new study, a research team pinpoints the anatomical differences between the clades that led to the PACMAD's tendency toward C4.