Sir Lil John, hey buddy. C3 is nectar synthesis, whereas C4 is sugar synthesis. Do you agree with this?
Blessings
Hi Van - as some 90% of plants are thought to employ C3 synthesis, I'd say you're almost certainly correct in concluding that the sugar component of nectar is indeed C3.
A short quote pulled from that report:
"The nectar and honeydew, respectively, are transformed into honey by the bee enzymes diastase (amylases) and invertase (a-glucosidase) during storage and maturation in the beehive. During this process, diastase and invertase catalyse the conversion of the sugars of nectar and honeydew into fructose and glucose, the main constituents of honey. The result is a complex mixture made up of about 70% monosaccharides and 10-15% disaccharides composed of glucose and fructose with the glycosidic bond in different positions and configurations."
This, as I see it, is the crux of the matter - it's not simply a case of C3 or C4 - but one of honey vs extracted and refined sugars, for as the above quote reveals, the sugar component of honey is itself extremely complex, and that - along with the local minerals pulled up from the soil to become constituents of nectar - renders honey from each locality completely individual. Contrast that uniqueness with the more-or-less uniform content of extracted and refined beet or cane sugars, within which even their impurities will tend to be uniform.
"whereas C4 is sugar synthesis". But can't agree with that conclusion, for although sugar 'stored' within sugar-cane is C4, sugar similarly 'stored' within sugar-beet is most certainly C3.
Notably, there's a group of plants which grow in essentially arid regions, but which experience sudden downpours - such as pineapple, cacti and agave - which employ both C3 and C4 synthesis, presumably to cater for such sudden events ... I guess. Wish I'd studied this area of biology in depth, as I'm finding such adaptations really interesting.
'best,
LJ
PS - as long as no-one is planning to adulterate their honey - none of this stuff really matters very much.