Are C3 and C4 really simply interchangeable mechanisms? What about CAM, would it be possible to "install a CAM module" into maize to make it drought resistant, though less productive?
Also, but that might not be directly related to your work, the article says "plants already absorb more sunlight than they can use" but still goes on to talk about how they could be more efficient if they used a larger part of the light spectrum. Would it serve any purpose, then?
You can think of C3, C4 and CAM as interchangeable functions, yes. They take in CO2 and energy from sunlight, and they output sugar:
def photosynthesis(co2, energy)
# C3, C4 or CAM
return sugar
end
to your second question, plants absorb photons that are not converted to biomass because all the light harvesting machinery is saturated. But this is only true at the parts of the plant that are most exposed to light. The idea is that we could reduce the absorption in those parts and let some light through to other parts of the plant, where it could be absorbed at a different wavelength if we install that ability.
Also, but that might not be directly related to your work, the article says "plants already absorb more sunlight than they can use" but still goes on to talk about how they could be more efficient if they used a larger part of the light spectrum. Would it serve any purpose, then?