Isotopic composition of cellulose from 3 carbon pathway, 4 carbon pathway and crassulacean acid metabolism plants growing near one another
Sternberg L and DeNiro MJ. 1983. Isotopic composition of cellulose from 3 carbon pathway, 4 carbon pathway and crassulacean acid metabolism plants growing near one another. Science. 220(4600):947-949
Cellulose from plants having crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) [Opuntia ramosissima, O. bigelovii, O. acanthocarpa, O. basilaris, Ferocactus acanthodes, Echinocereus engelmannii and Agave deserti] was enriched in deuterium but not in 0-18 in relation to cellulose from C3 (Cercidium floridum, Simmondsia chinensis, Hyptis emoryi, Parosela spinosa, Larrea tridentata, Hymenoclea salsola, Schismus barbatus and Bromus rubens) and C4 (Salsola iberica and Euphorbia polycarpa) plants growing in the same area, indicating that the deuterium enrichment is due to isotopic fractionation during biochemical reactions rather than during evaoptranspiration. H and O stable isotope rations of cellulose from the plants in this restricted area showed more variability than that observed in samples collected across the entire continent. Biological factors appear to be as important as environmental factors in determining the isotope rations of plant cellulose.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Sternberg, Leonel; DeNiro, Michael
- Units
- SODN
- Keywords
- Chemistry, Ecology, organic chemistry, Plant Studies