CAM Photosynthesis in Bromeliads and Agaves: What Can We Learn from These Plants?

Abstract

The term Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM) was introduced in the 1940s as a result of observations in Bryophyllum calycinum, a crassulacean plant, which showed prominent diel variations in leaf acid content, with increases at night followed by daytime deacidification [1, 2]. Nowadays, we know that CAM is present in plant families other than Crassulaceae, being found in about 20,000 terrestrial and aquatic species, with representatives in 343 genera of 35 families [3, 4].