ABSTRACT
The plants can be divided into distinct physiological groups according to their photosynthetic pathways. The C4 plants contribute to 25% of the total terrestrial photosynthesis even though they form only 3% of the total vascular plants. The phosphoglycolate produced in this process undergoes detoxification in the peroxisome and mitochondria in a process called photorespiration, resulting in loss of energy and some of the previously fixed CO2. The biochemical and physiological characteristics of C4 photosynthesis have been researched and elucidated by different research groups. Though a functional C4 prototype is yet to be developed, numerous transgenic lines have been developed with either single genes related to biochemical pathway, Kranz anatomy, transporters, or plastid biogenesis. Initial analysis of six distinct rice mutant lines, termed altered leaf morphology mutants, for the architecture of their interveinal mesophyll cell arrangement did not provide any clue for Kranz anatomy.
