C4 Plants, Definition of C4 pathway or

Hatch and Slack pathway

• Plants, especially in the tropical region, follow this pathway. 

• Before Calvin or C3 cycle, some plants follow the C4 or Hatch and Slack pathway.

• It is a two step process where Oxaloacetic acid (OAA) which is a 4-carbon

compound is produced. It occurs in mesophyll and bundle sheath cell present in a

chloroplast.

• Over 8000 species of angiosperms have developed adaptations which minimize the

losses to photorespiration.
C4 fixation is an elaboration of the more common C3 carbon
fixation and is believed to have evolved more recently. C4
overcomes the tendency of the enzyme RuBisCO to
wastefully fix oxygen rather than carbon dioxide in the
process of photorespiration. This is achieved by ensuring that
RuBisCO works in an environment where there is a lot of
carbon dioxide and very little oxygen. CO2 is shuttled via
malate or aspartate from mesophyll cells to bundle-sheath
cells. In these bundle-sheath cells CO2 is released by
decarboxylation of the malate.
 C4 Plants

The C4 pathway is designed to efficiently fix CO2 at low

concentrations and plants that use this pathway are known
as C4 plants. These plants first fix CO2 into a four carbon
compound (C4) called oxaloacetate . This occurs in cells
called mesophyll cells. First, CO2 is fixed to a three-carbon
compound called phosphoenolpyruvate to produce the
four-carbon compound oxaloacetate. The enzyme
catalyzing this reaction, PEP carboxylase, fixes CO2 very
efficiently so the C4 plants don't need to to have their
stomata open as much.
The C4 Pathway The C4 pathway is designed to
efficiently fix CO2 at low concentrations and plants
that use this pathway are known as C4 plants.
These plants fix CO2 into a four carbon compound
(C4) called oxaloacetate. This occurs in cells called
mesophyll cells. (1) CO2 is fixed to a three-carbon
compound called phosphoenolpyruvate to produce
the four-carbon compound oxaloacetate. The
enzyme catalyzing this reaction, PEP carboxylase,
fixes CO2 very efficiently so the C4 plants don't
need to to have their stomata open as much.
The oxaloacetate is then converted to another four-
carbon compound called malate in a step requiring the
reducing power of NADPH. (3). The malate then exits
the mesophyll cells and enters the chloroplasts of
specialized cells called bundle sheath cells. Here the
four-carbon malate is decarboxylated to produce
CO2, a three-carbon compound called pyruvate, and
NADPH. The CO2 combines with ribulose
bisphosphate and goes through the Calvin cycle. (4)
The pyruvate re-enters the mesophyll cells, reacts
with ATP, and is converted back to
phosphoenolpyruvate, the starting compound of the
C4 cycle.
• When the 4-carbon compound is produced, it is sent to the bundle
sheath cell.
• Here the 4-carbon molecule further get splits into a carbon
dioxide and the 3-cabon compound.
• Eventually, the C3 pathway starts to produce energy, where the
3-carbon compound act as the precursor.
• C4 plants are also known as warm-season or tropical plants.

• These can be perennial or annual.

• The perfect temperature to grow for these plants is 90-95°F.

• The C4 plants are much more efficient in utilizing nitrogen and

gathering carbon dioxide from the soil and atmosphere.
• The protein content is low as compared to C3 plants.