the presence of carbon dioxide molecules, which enter the plant through pores in the leaf. They then diffuse through the cell to the chloroplast, and disperse in the stroma [2]. The light-independent reaction begins in the stroma when these carbon dioxide molecules link to sugar molecules called ribulose bisphosphate (RuBP) in a process known as carbon fixation. With the help of an enzyme, six molecules of carbon dioxide bond to six molecules of RuBP to create six new molecules. Several intermediate steps, which require ATP, NADPH, and additional enzymes, rearrange the position of the carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms in these six molecules, and when the reactions are complete, one new molecule of glucose has been constructed and five molecules of RuBP have been reconstructed [10]. This process occurs repeatedly in each chloroplast as long as carbon dioxide, ATP, and NADPH are available. The thousands of glucose molecules produced in this reaction are processed by the plant to produce energy in the process known as aerobic respiration, used as structural materials, or stored. The regenerated RuBP is used to start the Calvin cycle all over again. A majority of plants use these steps in photosynthesis. Plants such as corn and crabgrass that have evolved in hot, dry environments, however, must overcome certain obstacles to photosynthesis. On hot days, they partially close the pores in their leaves to prevent the escape of water. With the pores only slightly open, adequate amounts of carbon dioxide cannot enter the leaf, and the Calvin cycle comes to a halt [8]. To get around this problem, certain hot-weather plants have developed a way to keep carbon dioxide flowing to the stroma without capturing it directly from the air. They open their pores slightly, take in carbon dioxide, and transport it deep within the leaves. Here they stockpile it in a chemical form that releases the carbon dioxide slowly and steadily into the Cal...
