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C4-like plants represent the penultimate stage of evolution from C3 to C4 plants. Although Coleataenia prionitis (formerly Panicum prionitis) has been described as a C4 plant, its leaf anatomy and gas exchange traits suggest that it may be a C4-like plant. Here, we reexamined the leaf structure and biochemical and physiological traits of photosynthesis in this grass. The large vascular bundles were surrounded by two layers of bundle sheath (BS): a colorless outer BS and a chloroplast-rich inner BS. Small vascular bundles, which generally had a single BS layer with various vascular structures, also occurred throughout the mesophyll together with BS cells not associated with vascular tissue. The mesophyll cells did not show a radial arrangement typical of Kranz anatomy. These features suggest that the leaf anatomy of C. prionitis is on the evolutionary pathway to a complete C4 Kranz type. Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) and pyruvate, Pi dikinase occurred in the mesophyll and outer BS. Glycine decarboxylase was confined to the inner BS. Ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) accumulated in the mesophyll and both BSs. C. prionitis had biochemical traits of NADP-malic enzyme type, whereas its gas exchange traits were close to those of C4-like intermediate plants rather than C4 plants. A gas exchange study with a PEPC inhibitor suggested that Rubisco in the mesophyll could fix atmospheric CO2. These data demonstrate that C. prionitis is not a true C4 plant but should be considered as a C4-like plant.

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