Question

Study vertical sections of leaves, one of a C3 plant and the other of a C4 plant. Do you notice the difference? Do both have the same type of mesophylls?

Answer 1

Part 1: Anatomy of leaf
The arrangement of mesophyll and bundle sheath cells in the leaf of C4 plants is different from C3 plants. The parenchymatous cell which is a type of ground tissue present in the leaf is called mesophyll. The cells surrounding the vascular bundles are called the bundle sheath. In the C4 plant these mesophyll cells are clustered around the bundle sheath cells and form a shape which is similar to the wreath. This arrangement seen in the leaf of C4 plants is called Kranz anatomy. In C3 plants the mesophyll cells are not clustered and they do not exhibit Kranz anatomy . In C3 plants chloroplast are present only in the mesophyll cells. In C4 plants chloroplasts are present in bundle sheath as well as mesophyll cells.