The ATP Levels Obtained in Photophosphorylation, Glycolysis and Oxidative Phosphorylation in Scenedesmus Titrated with Desaspidin

The ATP levels in photophosphorylation, glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation, in the unicellular green alga Scenedesmus obtusiusculus, were titrated with narrow concentration intervals of desaspidin in the presence of different concentrations of 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU), which allows the differentiation between non-cyclic, pseudocyclic and true cyclic photophosphorylation. The data on photophosphorylative ATP levels were compared with earlier data on total binding of phosphate. In the true cyclic process, both parameters are equally sensitive towards desaspidin. Under pseudocyclic conditions and in non-cyclic photophosphorylation, the level of ATP is more sensitive towards desaspidin than is total binding of phosphate. This suggests a structural difference between the cyclic and the two non-cyclic (one of which is also pseudocyclic) sites. The non-cyclic ATP level is more sensitive towards desaspidin than is pseudocyclic. This may be connected with the higher ATP level under pseudocyclic as compared to non-cyclic conditions.