Involvement of CO2 fixation products in the light-dark modulation of nitrate reductase activity in barley leaves

Nitrate reductase (NR, NADH:nitrate oxidoreductase, EC 1.6.6.1) activity from leaves of barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Hassan) is rapidly and reversibly inactivated during a light-dark transition. A hyperbolic correlation exists between in vivo rates of CO₂ fixation and extractable NR activity from the leaves, and feeding hexose and hexosephosphate protects against the dark-inactivation; indicating that carbon-assimilation products are regulatory factors of NR activity mediating both the light-dark modulation and its dependence upon CO₂ fixation. To corroborate this point, the effect of inhibiting CO₂ fixation on NR activity in barley leaves has been analyzed. Glycolaldehyde (50 mM), an inhibitor of the regeneration phase of the Calvin cycle, was fed through the transpiration stream and inhibited CO₂ fixation by more than 80% at the same time as it produced a parallel inhibition of NR light-activation. Feeding mannose (10 mM), inhibited CO₂ fixation by 35% but did not affect NR activity in illuminated leaves and completely protected against dark-inactivation. Interestingly, feeding inorganic phosphate, P_i, (10 mM) alone or together with mannose also protected NR activity against dark-inactivation. The mannose effect could be interpreted in terms of accumulation of mannose 6-phosphate, an analog of glucose 6-phosphate. After feeding either 10 mM glucose or dihydroxyacetone phosphate, NR activity from darkened leaves was significantly higher than that of darkened control leaves fed with water (P< 0.03). These treatments, as well as P_i feeding, also produce some increase in extractable NR activity from illuminated leaves. The results indicate that factors increasing the levels of hexose- and triose-phosphate have positive effects on NR activation, supporting the contention that the NR activation system is sensitive to carbon-assimilation products.     

Regulation of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase activity in leaves

Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (EC 3.1.3.11) activity increased markedly (greater than 10-fold) upon illumination of wheat leaves. Darkening caused a relatively slow but complete reversal of light activation. The effects of O₂ and CO₂ concentration and light intensity on fructose-bisphosphatase activation were measured. In ratelimiting light, 2% O₂ stimulated enzyme activity, whereas varying the CO₂ concentration had little effect. In saturating light, lowering the oxygen tension had no effect, but CO₂ at near-saturating concentrations for photosynthesis inhibited enzyme activity. Dark inactivation of the enzyme was completely prevented by incubation of leaves in N₂, but was facilitated by O₂, indicating that O₂ is the major oxidant in darkened leaves. It is argued that while fructose bisphosphatase is redox-regulated in leaves, modulation of enzyme activity by this mechanism is unlikely to contribute to the regulation of CO₂ fixation in leaves.     

Effects of constitutive expression of nitrate reductase in transgenic Nicotiana plumbaginifolia L. in response to varying nitrogen supply

Transformed Nicotiana plumbaginifolia plants with constitutive expression of nitrate reductase (NR) activity were grown at different levels of nitrogen nutrition. The gradients in foliar NO ₃ ^– content and maximum extractable NR activity observed with leaf order on the shoot, from base to apex, were much decreased as a result of N-deficiency in both the transformed plants and wild type controls grown under identical conditions. Constitutive expression of NR did not influence the foliar protein and chlorophyll contents under any circumstances. A reciprocal relationship between the observed maximal extractable NR activity of the leaves and their NO ₃ ^– content was observed in plants grown in nitrogen replete conditions at low irradiance (170 mol photons·m^–2 ·s^–1). This relationship disappeared at higher irradiance (450 mol photons·m^–2·S^–1) because the maximal extractable NR activity in the leaves of the wild type plants in these conditions increased to a level that was similar to, or greater than that found in constitutive NR-expressors. Much more NO ₃ ^– accumulated in the leaves of plants grown at 450 mol photons·m^–2·s^–1 than in those grown at 170 mol photons·m^–2·s^–1 in N-replete conditions. The foliar NO ₃ ^– level and maximal NR activity decreased with the imposition of N-deficiency in all plant types such that after prolonged exposure to nitrogen depletion very little NO ₃ ^– was found in the leaves and NR activity had decreased to almost zero. The activity of NR decreased under conditions of nitrogen deficiency. This regulation is multifactoral since there is no regulation of NR gene expression by NO ₃ ^– in the constitutive NR-expressors. We conclude that the NR protein is specifically targetted for destruction under nitrogen deficiency. Consequently, constitutive expression of NR activity does not benefit the plant in terms of increased biomass production in conditions of limiting nitrogen.Abbreviations Chl chlorophyll - N nitrogen - NR NADH-nitrate reductase - WT wild type     

Short-term modulation of nitrate reductase activity by exogenous nitrate in Nicotiana plumbaginifolia and Zea mays leaves

Maize (Zea mays L.) grown on low (0.8 mM) NO ₃ ^- , as well as untransformed and transformed Nicotiana plumbaginifolia constitutively expressing nitrate reductase (NR), was used to study the effects of NO ₃ ^- on the NR activation state. The NR activation state was determined from the relationship of total activity extracted in the presence of ethylenediaminetetracetic acid to that extracted in the presence of Mg²⁺. Light activation was observed in both maize and tobacco leaves. In the tobacco lines, NO ₃ ^- did not influence the NR activation state. In excised maize leaves, no correlation was found between the foliar NO ₃ ^- content and the NR activation state. Similarly, the NR activation state did not respond to NO ₃ ^- . Since the NR activation state determined from the degree of Mg²⁺-induced inhibition of NR activity is considered to reflect the phosphorylation state of the NR protein, the protein phosphatase inhibitor microcystin LR was used to test the importance of protein phosphorylation in the NO ₃ ^- -induced changes in NR activity. In-vivo inhibition of endogenous protein phosphatase activity by microcystin-LR decreased the level of NR activation in the light. This occurred to the same extent in the presence or absence of exogenous NO ₃ ^- . We conclude that NO ₃ ^- does not effect the NR activation state, as modulated by protein phosphorylation in either tobacco (a C₃ species) or maize (a C₄ species). The short-term regulation of NR therefore differs from the NO ₃ ^- -mediated responses observed for phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and sucrose phosphate synthase.Abbreviations Chl chlorophyll - MC microcystin-LR - PEP-Case phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase - SPS sucrose-phosphate synthase We are indebted to Madeleine Provot and Nathalie Hayes for excellent technical assistance. This work was funded by EEC Biotechnology Contract No. BI02 CT93 0400, project of technical priority, Network D — Nitrogen Utilisation and Efficiency.     

Low CO(2) Prevents Nitrate Reduction in Leaves

The correlation between CO₂ assimilation and nitrate reduction in detached spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) leaves was examined by measuring light-dependent changes in leaf nitrate levels in response to mild water stress and to artificially imposed CO₂ deficiency. The level of extractable nitrate reductase (NR) activity was also measured. The results are: (a) In the light, detached turgid spinach leaves reduced nitrate stored in the vacuoles of mesophyll cells at rates between 3 and 10 micromoles per milligram of chlorophyll per hour. Nitrate fed through the petiole was reduced at similar rates as storage nitrate. Nitrate reduction was accompanied by malate accumulation. (b) Under mild water stress which caused stomatal closure, nitrate reduction was prevented. The inhibition of nitrate reduction observed in water stressed leaves was reversed by external CO₂ concentrations (10-15%) high enough to overcome stomatal resistance. (c) Nitrate reduction was also inhibited when turgid leaves were kept in CO₂-free air or at the CO₂-compensation point or in nitrogen. (d) When leaves were illuminated in CO₂-free air, activity of NR decreased rapidly. It increased again, when CO₂ was added back to the system. The half-time for a 50% change in activity was about 30 min. It thus appears that there is a rapid inactivation/activation mechanism of NR in leaves which couples nitrate reductase to net photosynthesis.     

Phosphorylation/dephosphorylation of Komatsuna (Brassica campestris) leaf nitrate reductase in vivo and in vitro in response to environmental light conditions: Effects of protein kinase and protein phosphatase inhibitors

Activity of nitrate reductase (NR; EC 1.6.6.1) in leaves of Komatsuna (Brassica campestris L. ssp. rapifera cv. Osome) was decreased by sudden darkness, and rapidly recovered upon reillumination. However, the amount of NR protein, estimated by western blots, did not fluctuate during short-term light/dark/light transitions. This suggests that rapid changes of NR activity in response to light/dark regimes are due to reversible modulation of the protein and not to de novo synthesis/degradation. In mannose-fed leaves, such light/dark changes in NR activity were not observed. When extracts from illuminated leaves were incubated with MgATP, NR activity decreased in a time-dependent manner. K-252a, a specific inhibitor of protein kinases, prevented the in vitro inactivation of NR. The radiolabel of [γ-³²P] ATP was incorporated into NR protein in vitro and the labelling of NR was blocked by K-252a. On the other hand, extractable NR from darkened leaves was activated by incubation at 30°C without further additions. The in vitro activation of NR was prevented by calyculin A, a potent and specific inhibitor of protein phosphatase. Moreover calyculin A abolished the in vivo activation of NR by illumination. Our results confirm a regulatory system by phosphorylation/dephosphorylation of NR. The data also suggest that the activity of NR depends on the relative phosphorylation/dephosphorylation activities subtly controlled in response to photon flux density.     

Adenine nucleotides are apparently involved in the light-dark modulation of spinach-leaf nitrate reductase

Nitrate reductase (NR; EC 1.6.6.1) in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L. cv. Polka F1) leaves showed reversible modulation, being activated in the light and inactivated in the dark (t/2 = 20–30 min). The large changes in enzyme activity during light-dark transients were observed only when assayed in buffers containing free Mg²⁺. In the presence of EDTA (5 mM), the enzyme activity was high and the light modulation was barely evident.The inactivation of NR in the dark could be totally prevented by anaerobiosis, or by feeding mannose or 2,4-dinitrophenol through the leaf petiole. All these treatments drastically decreased ATP levels and increased AMP levels in leaf extracts, thus pointing to a close correlation between adenine-nucleotide levels and NR activity. Treatment of leaves in the dark with 2,4-dinitrophenol or with anaerobiosis brought about an accumulation of nitrite, thus confirming that under these conditions NR remained active also in vivo. The in-vivo dark-inactivated enzyme was reactivated in vitro by preincubating a leaf extract with AMP in the presence of the myokinase inhibitor p¹,p⁵-di(adenosine 5)pentaphosphate. It is suggested that NR responds to artificially induced drastic changes in cytosolic adeninenucleotide levels, being active when ATP is low and AMP is high. Adenine nucleotides also appear to participate in the light-dark modulation of NR, but additional regulatory factors have to be postulated.     

Inhibition of the circadian rhythm of CO2 metabolism in Bryophyllum leaves by cycloheximide and dinitrophenol

The circadian rhythm of CO₂ output in darkened leaves of Bryophyllum fedtschenkoi R. Hamet and Perrier can be inhibited by cycloheximide (10^-6 mol) and 2,4-dinitrophenol (10^-5 mol) applied via the transpiration stream. After having been suppressed by 10^-6 M cycloheximide, the rhythm can be reinitiated with a 12-h exposure to light. Experiments using ¹⁴CO₂ show that cycloheximide abolishes the rhythm by inhibiting the dark fixation of CO₂. Cycloheximide inhibits malate accumulation and acidification of the leaves, but does not affect the amount of the CO₂-fixing enzyme phosphoenol-pyruvate carboxylase (PEP-C, EC 4.1.1.31) which can be extracted from the leaves during the 45 h of the experiment. Cycloheximide has no direct effect on the activity of the enzyme as measured in the assay. PEP-C from desalted leaf extracts was inhibited by L-malate (K_i=0.4 mmol). The most likely explanation for the inhibitory effect of cycloheximide and dinitrophenol is that they cause changes in tonoplast properties which result in a redistribution of malate from the vacuole to the cytoplasm. An increase in malate concentration in the cytoplasm will lead to inhibition of PEP-carboxylase, and hence the suppression of the rhythm of CO₂ output.Abbreviations CAM crassulacean acid metabolism - PEP-C phosphoenol-pyruvate carboxylase - MDH malate dehydrogenase - CHM cycloheximide - DNP 2,4-dinitrophenol - LD light-dark-cycle - DD continuous darkness     

Carbon and nitrogen metabolism in a barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) mutant with impaired chloroplast dicarboxylate transport

A mutant line, RPr79/2, of barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Maris Mink) has been isolated that has an apparent defect in photorespiratory nitrogen metabolism. The metabolism of ¹⁴C-labelled glutamine, glutamate and 2-oxoglutarate indicates that the mutant has a greatly reduced ability to synthesise glutamate, especially in air, although in-vitro enzyme analysis indicates the presence of wild-type activities of glutamine synthetase (EC 6.3.1.2) glutamate synthase (EC 1.4.7.1 and EC 1.4.1.14) and glutamate dehydrogenase (EC 1.4.1.2). Several characteristics of RPr79/2 are very similar to those described for glutamate-synthase-deficient barley and Arabidopsis thaliana mutants, including the pattern of labelling following fixation of ¹⁴CO₂, and the rapid rise in glutamine content and fall in glutamate in leaves on transfer to air. The CO₂-fixation rate in RPr79/2 declines much more slowly on transfer from 1% O₂ to air than do the rates in glutamate-synthase-deficient plants, and RPr79/2 plants do not die in air unless the temperature and irradiance are high. Analysis of (glutamine+NH₃+2-oxoglutarate)-dependent O₂ evolution by isolated chloroplasts shows that chloroplasts from RPr79/2 require a fivefold greater concentration of 2-oxoglutarate than does the wild-type for maximum activity. The levels of 2-oxoglutarate in illuminated leaves of RPr79/2 in air are sevenfold higher than in Maris Mink. It is suggested that RPr79/2 is defective in chloroplast dicarboxylate transport.     

Modulation of carbon and nitrogen metabolism, and of nitrate reductase, in untransformed and transformed Nicotiana plumbaginifolia during CO2 enrichment of plants grown in pots and in hydroponic culture

Transformed plants of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia Viv. constitutively expressing nitrate reductase (35S-NR) or β-glucuronidase (35S-GUS) and untransformed controls were grown for two weeks in a CO₂-enriched atmosphere. Whereas CO₂ enrichment (1000 μl · l⁻¹) resulted in an increase in the carbon (C) to nitrogen (N) ratio of both the tobacco lines grown in pots with vermiculite, the C/N ratio was only slightly modified when plants were grown in hydroponic culture in high CO₂ compared to those grown in air. Constitutive nitrate reductase (NR) expression per se did not change the C/N ratio of the shoots or roots. Biomass accumulation was similar in both types of plant when hydroponic or pot-grown material, grown in air or high CO₂, were compared. Shoot dry matter accumulation was primarily related to the presence of stored carbohydrate (starch and sucrose) in the leaves. In the pot-grown tobacco, growth at elevated CO₂ levels caused a concomitant decrease in the N content of the leaves involving losses in NO⁻ ₃ and amino acid levels. In contrast, the N content and composition were similar in all plants grown in hydroponic culture. The 35S-NR plants grown in air had higher foliar maximum extractable NR activities and increased glutamine levels (on a chlorophyll or protein basis) than the untransformed controls. These increases were maintained following CO₂ enrichment when the plants were grown in hydroponic culture, suggesting that an increased flux through nitrogen assimilation was possible in the 35S-NR plants. Under CO₂ enrichment the NR activation state in the leaves was similar in all plants. When the 35S-NR plants were grown in pots, however, foliar NR activity and glutamine content fell in the 35S-NR transformants to levels similar to those of the untransformed controls. The differences in NR activity between untransformed and 35S-NR leaves were much less pronounced in the hydroponic than in the pot-grown material but the difference in total extractable NR activity was more marked following CO₂ enrichment. Foliar NR message levels were decreased by CO₂ enrichment in all growth conditions but this was much more pronounced in pot-grown material than in that grown hydroponically. Since β-glucuronidase (GUS) activity and message levels in 35S-GUS plants grown under the same conditions of CO₂ enrichment (to test the effects of CO₂ enrichment on the activity of the 35S promoter) were found to be constant, we conclude that NR message turnover was specifically accelerated in the 35S-NR plants as well as in the untransformed controls as a result of CO₂ enrichment. The molecular and metabolic signals involved in increased NR message and protein turnover are not known but possible effectors include NO₃ ⁻, glutamine and asparagine. We conclude that plants grown in hydroponic culture have greater access to N than those grown in pots. Regardless of the culture method, CO₂ enrichment has a direct effect on NR mRNA stability. Received: 17 October 1996 / Accepted: 11 February 1997     

Utilization of nitrate by bacteroids of Bradyrhizobium japonicum in the soybean root nodule

Bacteroids of Bradyrhizobium japonicum strain CB1809, unlike CC705, do not have a high level of constitutive nitrate reductase (NR; EC 1.7.99.4) in the soybean (Glycine max. Merr.) nodule. Ex planta both strains have a high activity of NR when cultured on 5 mM nitrate at 2% O₂ (v/v). Nitrite reductase (NiR) was active in cultured cells of bradyrhizobia, but activity with succinate as electron donor was not detected in freshly-isolated bacteroids. A low activity was measured with reduced methyl viologen. When bacteroids of CC705 were incubated with nitrate there was a rapid production of nitrite which resulted in repression of NR. Subsequently when NiR was induced, nitrite was utilized and NR activity recovered. Nitrate reductase was induced in bacteroids of strain CB1809 when they were incubated in-vitro with nitrate or nitrite. Increase in NR activity was prevented by rifampicin (10 g· ml^-1) or chloramphenicol (50 g·ml^-1). Nitrite-reductase activity in bacteroids of strain CB1809 was induced in parallel with NR. When nitrate was supplied to soybeans nodulated with strain CC705, nitrite was detected in nodule extracts prepared in aqueous media and it accumulated during storage (1°C) and on further incubation at 25°C. Nitrite was not detected in nodule extracts prepared in ethanol. Thus nitrite accumulation in nodule tissue appears to occur only after maceration and although bacteroids of some strains of B. japonicum have a high level of a constitutive NR, they do not appear to reduce nitrate in the nodule because this anion does not gain access to the bacteroid zone. Soybeans nodulated with strains CC705 and CB1809 were equally sensitive to nitrate inhibition of N₂ fixation.Abbreviations NR nitrate reductase - NiR nitrite reductase - Tris 2-amino-2-(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-propanediol     

Factors influencing the capacity for photosynthetic carbon assimilation in barley leaves at low temperatures

The aim of this work was to examine the effect upon photosynthetic capacity of short-term exposure (up to 10 h) to low temperatures (5° C) of darkened leaves of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) plants. The carbohydrate content, metabolite status and the photosynthetic rate of leaves were measured at low temperature, high light and higher than ambient CO₂. Under these conditions we could detect whether previous exposure of leaves to low temperature overcame the limitation by phosphate which occurs in leaves of plants not previously exposed to low temperatures. The rates of CO₂ assimilation measured at 8° C differed by as much as twofold, depending upon the pretreatment. (i) Leaves from plants which had previously been darkened for 24 h had a low content of carbohydrate, had the lowest CO₂-assimilation rates at low temperature, and photosynthesis was limited by carbohydrate, as shown by a large stimulation of photosynthesis by feeding glucose, (ii) Leaves from plants which had previously been illuminated for 24 h and which contained large carbohydrate reserves showed an accumulation of phosphorylated intermediates and higher CO₂-assimilation rates at low temperature, but nevertheless remained limited by phosphate, (iii) Maximum rates of CO₂ assimilation at low temperature were observed in leaves which had intermediate reserves of carbohydrate or in leaves which were rich in carbohydrate and which were also fed phosphate. It is suggested that carbohydrate reserves potentiate the system for the achievement of high rates of photosynthesis at low temperatures by accumulation of photosynthetic intermediates such as hexose phosphates, but that this potential cannot be realised if, at the same time, carbohydrate accumulation is itself leading to feedback inhibition of photosynthesis. This work was supported by the Agricultural and Food Research Council, UK (Research grant PG50/67) and by the Science and Engineering Reserach Council, UK. C.A.L. was supported by the British Council, by an Overseas Research Student Award and by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq), Brazil.     

Relationship of photosynthetic acclimation to changes of Rubisco activity in field-grown winter wheat and barley during growth in elevated carbon dioxide

The responses of photosynthesis, Rubisco activity, Rubisco protein, leaf carbohydrates and total soluble protein to three carbon dioxide treatments were studied in winter wheat [Triticum aestivum (L.)] and barley [Hordeum vulgare (L.)]. Barley and wheat plants were grown in small field plots during 1995 and 1996 in clear, acrylic chambers (1.2–2.4 m²) and were provided with continuous carbon dioxide fertilization at concentrations of 350, 525 and 700 mol mol^–1. Photosynthetic rates of barley penultimate leaves and wheat flag leaves measured at growth carbon dioxide concentrations decreased with leaf age in all three CO₂ treatments during 1995 and 1996. Photosynthetic acclimation to elevated CO₂ was observed on seven of eight measurement dates for barley and ten of eleven measurement dates for wheat over both years. Initial Rubisco activity, total soluble protein and Rubisco protein in barley penultimate leaves and wheat flag leaves also decreased with leaf age. Total Rubisco activity was not used because of enzyme degradation. There was a significant CO₂ treatment effect on initial Rubisco activity, total soluble protein and Rubisco protein for wheat in 1995 and 1996 and for barley in 1995. Responses of barley penultimate leaf Rubisco activity and leaf protein concentrations to elevated carbon dioxide were nonsignificant in 1996. A significant CO₂ treatment effect also was detected when means of Rubisco activity, soluble protein and Rubisco protein for wheat flag leaves were combined over harvests and years. These three flag leaf parameters were not significantly different in the 350 and 525 mol mol^–1 CO₂ treatments but were decreased during growth in 700 mol mol^–1 CO₂ relative to the other two CO₂ treatments. Ratios of photosynthesis at 700 and 350 mol mol^–1 were compared to ratios of Rubisco activity at 700 and 350 mol mol^–1 using wheat flag leaf data from 1995 and 1996. Regression analysis of these data were linear [y = 0.586 + 1.103t x (r² = 0.432)] and were significant at P 0.05. This result indicated that photosynthetic acclimation was positively correlated with changes of initial Rubisco activity in wheat flag leaves in response to CO₂ enrichment. Effects of elevated CO₂ on wheat leaf proteins during 1995 and 1996 and on barley during 1995 were consistent with an acceleration of senescence.     

Non-phototrophic CO 2 fixation by soil microorganisms

Although soils are generally known to be a net source of CO₂ due to microbial respiration, CO₂ fixation may also be an important process. The non-phototrophic fixation of CO₂ was investigated in a tracer experiment with ¹⁴CO₂ in order to obtain information about the extent and the mechanisms of this process. Soils were incubated for up to 91 days in the dark. In three independent incubation experiments, a significant transfer of radioactivity from ¹⁴CO₂ to soil organic matter was observed. The process was related to microbial activity and could be enhanced by the addition of readily available substrates such as acetate. CO₂ fixation exhibited biphasic kinetics and was linearly related to respiration during the first phase of incubation (about 20–40 days). The fixation amounted to 3–5% of the net respiration. After this phase, the CO₂ fixation decreased to 1–2% of the respiration. The amount of carbon fixed by an agricultural soil corresponded to 0.05% of the organic carbon present in the soil at the beginning of the experiment, and virtually all of the fixed CO₂ was converted to organic compounds. Many autotrophic and heterotrophic biochemical processes result in the fixation of CO₂. However, the enhancement of the fixation by addition of readily available substrates and the linear correlation with respiration suggested that the process is mainly driven by aerobic heterotrophic microorganisms. We conclude that heterotrophic CO₂ fixation represents a significant factor of microbial activity in soils.     

In vitro enzyme activities and products of 14CO2 assimilation in flag leaf and ear parts of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Activities of key enzymes of Calvin cycle and C₄ metabolism, rate of ¹⁴CO₂ fixation in light and dark and the initial products of photosynthetic ¹⁴CO₂ fixation were determined in flag leaf and different ear parts of wheat viz. pericarp, awn and glumes. Compared to the activities of RuBP carboxylase and other Calvin cycle enzymes viz. NADP-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, NAD-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and ribulose-5-phosphate kinase, the levels of PEP carboxylase and other enzymes of C₄ metabolism viz. NADP-malate dehydrogenase, NAD-malate dehydrogenase, NADP-malic enzyme, NAD-malic enzyme, glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase genase, NADP-malic enzyme, NAD-malic enzyme, glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase and glutamate pyruvate transaminase, were generally greater in ear parts than in the flag leaf. In contrast to CO₂ fixation in light, the various ear parts incorporated CO₂ in darkness at much higher rates than flag leaf. In short term assimilation of ¹⁴CO₂ by illuminated ear parts, most of the ¹⁴C was in malate with less in 3-phosphoglyceric acid, whereas flag leaves incorporated most into 3-phosphoglyceric acid. It seems likely that ear parts have the capability of assimilating CO₂ by the C₄ pathway of photosynthesis and utilise PEP carboxylase for recapturing the respired CO₂.     

Light/dark modulation of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase in C3 and C4 species

In this report, the effects of light on the activity and allosteric properties of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxylase were examined in newly matured leaves of several C₃ and C₄ species. Illumination of previously darkened leaves increased the enzyme activity 1.1 to 1.3 fold in C₃ species and 1.4 to 2.3 fold in C₄ species, when assayed under suboptimal conditions (pH 7) without allosteric effectors. The sensitivities of PEP carboxylase to the allosteric effectors malate and glucose-6-phosphate were markedly different between C₃ and C₄ species. In the presence of 5 mM malate, the activity of the enzyme extracted from illuminated leaves was 3 to 10 fold higher than that from darkened leaves in C₄ species due to reduced malate inhibition of the enzyme from illuminated leaves, whereas it increased only slightly in C₃ species. The Ki(malate) for the enzyme increased about 3 fold by illumination in C₄ species, but increased only slightly in C₃ species. Also, the addition of the positive effector glucose-6-phosphate provided much greater protection against malate inhibition of the enzyme from C₄ species than C₃ species. Feeding nitrate to excised leaves of nitrogen deficient plants enhanced the degree of light activation of PEP carboxylase in the C₄ species maize, but had little or no effect in the C₃ species wheat. These results suggest that post-translational modification by light affects the activity and allosteric properties of PEP carboxylase to a much greater extend in C₄ than in C₃ species.     

外源CaCl2对NaCl胁迫下酸枣幼苗氮代谢的影响

为了研究CaCl₂对NaCl胁迫下酸枣幼苗根、茎、叶的氮代谢影响,探索钙缓解幼苗NaCl胁迫的作用途径。该研究以酸枣幼苗为试验材料,检测不同浓度CaCl₂(0、5、10、20 mmol/L)对NaCl(150 mmol/L)胁迫下幼苗叶片H₂O₂、O^-·₂含量,根、茎、叶中硝酸还原酶(NR)、谷氨酰胺合成酶(GS)、谷氨酸合酶(GOGAT)活性及游离氨基酸、可溶性蛋白、硝态氮含量的影响,并采用主成分分析法筛选出评价CaCl₂缓解NaCl胁迫效应的生理指标。结果表明：与NaCl胁迫相比,盐胁迫幼苗叶片的H2O₂、O^-·₂积累量在5、10 mmol/L CaCl₂处理下显著减少;GOGAT活性在5、10 mmol/L CaCl₂处理下的植株根和茎内以及各浓度 CaCl₂处理的叶内均显著升高, GS、NR活性在10、20 mmol/L CaCl₂处理的根内和10 mmol/L CaCl₂处理的茎内以及5、10、20 mmol/L CaCl₂处理的叶内均显著升高;可溶性蛋白含量在5、10、20 mmol/L CaCl₂处理的根、茎、叶内均显著升高,游离氨基酸含量在10、20 mmol/L CaCl₂处理的根和茎内以及10 mmol/L CaCl₂处理的叶内均显著升高,硝态氮含量在10 mmol/L CaCl₂处理的根和茎内以及5、10、20 mmol/L CaCl₂处理的叶内均显著升高。研究发现,150 mmol/L NaCl胁迫对酸枣幼苗造成明显过氧化伤害,抑制了体内氮代谢;外源CaCl₂可通过促进幼苗根和茎内GS/GOGAT循环对NH₄⁺的同化作用,提高叶片NR活性,加快硝态氮的转化速率,从而增强幼苗对NaCl胁迫的适应性,并以10 mmol/L CaCl₂处理缓解效果最佳;游离氨基酸、GOGAT、NR可以作为CaCl₂缓解幼苗NaCl胁迫伤害的评价指标。     

The role of temperature in the regulation of the circadian rhythm of CO2 fixation in Bryophyllum fedtschenkoi

Detached leaves of Bryophyllum fedtschenkoi Hamet et Perrier kept in normal air show a single period of net CO₂ fixation on transfer to constant darkness at temperatures in the range 0–25 °C. The duration of this initial fixation period is largely independent of temperature in the range 5–20 °C, but lengthens very markedly at temperatures below 4 °C, and is reduced at temperatures above 25 °C. The onset of net fixation of CO₂ on transfer of leaves to constant darkness is immediate at low temperatures, but is delayed as the temperature is increased. The ambient temperature also determines whether or not a circadian rhythm of CO₂ exchange occurs. The rhythm begins to appear at about 20 °C, is most evident at 30 °C and becomes less distinct at 35 °C. The occurrence of a distinct circadian rhythm in CO₂ output at 30° C in the absence of a detectable rhythm in PEPCase kinase activity shows that the kinase rhythm is not a mandatory requirement for the rhythm of PEPCase activity. However, when it occurs, the kinase rhythm undoubtedly amplifies the PEPCase rhythm.Abbreviation PEPCase phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase We thank the Agricultural and Food Research Council for financial support for this work.