Data from: Gas exchange and leaf anatomy of a C3-CAM hybrid, Yucca gloriosa (Asparagaceae)|植物生理学数据集|进化生物学数据集

While the majority of plants use the typical C3 carbon metabolic pathway,
~6% of angiosperms have adapted to carbon limitation as a result of water
stress by employing a modified form of photosynthesis known as
Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM). CAM plants concentrate carbon in the
cells by temporally separating atmospheric carbon acquisition from
fixation into carbohydrates. CAM has been studied for decades, but the
evolutionary progression from C3 to CAM remains obscure. In order to
better understand the morphological and physiological characteristics
associated with CAM photosynthesis, phenotypic variation was assessed in
Yucca aloifolia, a CAM species, Yucca filamentosa, a C3 species, and Yucca
gloriosa, a hybrid species derived from these two yuccas exhibiting
intermediate C3–CAM characteristics. Gas exchange, titratable leaf
acidity, and leaf anatomical traits of all three species were assayed in a
common garden under well-watered and drought-stressed conditions. Yucca
gloriosa showed intermediate phenotypes for nearly all traits measured,
including the ability to acquire carbon at night. Using the variation
found among individuals of all three species, correlations between traits
were assessed to better understand how leaf anatomy and CAM physiology are
related. Yucca gloriosa may be constrained by a number of traits which
prevent it from using CAM to as high a degree as Y. aloifolia. The
intermediate nature of Y. gloriosa makes it a promising system in which to
study the evolution of CAM.