Histochemical Compartmentation of Photosynthesis in the Crassulacean Acid Metabolism Plant Crassula falcata

The succulent leaf of the obligate Crassulacean acid metabolism plant Crassula falcata comprises two distinct types of parenchyma. The peripheral tissue is dark green, whereas the central tissue is relatively colorless. We have investigated whether the conventional interpretation of Crassulacean acid metabolism—simply, temporal separation of light and dark CO₂ fixation within individual cells—is sufficient. Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (EC 4.1.1.39) and chlorophyll, indicating the photosynthetic-carbon-reduction pathway, were concentrated in peripheral tissue. Specific activities of P-enolpyruvate carboxylase (4.1.1.31) and of NAD⁺-malic enzyme (1.1.1.39), indicating capacity for dark CO₂ fixation and release, respectively, were high in both types of parenchyma. Measured directly as malic acid decline at the beginning of the photoperiod, CO₂ “storage” occurred in both tissues. These data indicate that there is a spatial component to Crassulacean acid metabolism in C. falcata.     

Carbon Flow and Metabolic Specialization in the Tissue Layers of the Crassulacean Acid Metabolism Plant, Peperomia camptotricha

Leaves of Peperomia camptotricha contain three distinct upper tissue layers and a one-cell thick lower epidermis. Light and dark CO₂ fixation rates and the activity of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase and several C₄ enzymes were determined in the three distinct tissue layers. The majority of the C₄ enzyme activity and dark CO₂ fixation was associated with the spongy mesophyll, including the lower epidermis; and the least activity was found in the median palisade mesophyll. In contrast, the majority of the C₃ activity, that is ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase and light CO₂ fixation, was located in the palisade mesophyll. In addition, the diurnal flux in titratable acidity was greatest in the spongy mesophyll and lowest in the palisade mesophyll. The spatial separation of the C₃ and C₄ phases of carbon fixation in P. camptotricha suggests that this Crassulacean acid metabolism plant may have low photorespiratory rates when it exhibits daytime gas exchange (that is, when it is well watered). The results also indicate that this plant may be on an evolutionary path between a true Crassulacean acid metabolism plant and a true C₄ plant.     

Photosynthetic CO(2) Fixation Products and Activities of Enzymes Related to Photosynthesis in Bermudagrass and Other Plants

After a 5-second exposure of illuminated bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon L. var. `Coastal') leaves to ¹⁴CO₂, 84% of the incorporated ¹⁴C was recovered as aspartate and malate. After transfer from ¹⁴CO₂-air to ¹²CO₂-air under continuous illumination, total radioactivity decreased in aspartate, increased in 3-phosphoglyceric acid and alanine, and remained relatively constant in malate. Carbon atom 1 of alanine was labeled predominantly, which was interpreted to indicate that alanine was derived from 3-phosphoglyceric acid. The activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, alkaline pyrophosphatase, adenylate kinase, pyruvate-phosphate dikinase, and malic enzyme in bermudagrass leaf extracts was distinctly higher than those in fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.), a reductive pentose phosphate cycle plant. Assays of malic enzyme activity indicated that the decarboxylation of malate was favored. Both malic enzyme and NADP⁺-specific malic dehydrogenase activity were low in bermudagrass compared to sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.). The activities of NAD⁺-specific malic dehydrogenase and acidic pyrophosphatase in leaf extracts were similar among the plant species examined, irrespective of the predominant cycle of photosynthesis. Ribulose-1, 5-diphosphate carboxylase in C₄-dicarboxylic acid cycle plant leaf extracts was about 60%, on a chlorophyll basis, of that in reductive pentose phosphate cycle plants.     

Effects of Light and Elevated Atmospheric CO(2) on the Ribulose Bisphosphate Carboxylase Activity and Ribulose Bisphosphate Level of Soybean Leaves

Soybean (Glycine max L. Merr. cv Bragg) was grown throughout its life cycle at 330, 450, and 800 microliters CO₂ per liter in outdoor controlled-environment chambers under solar irradiance. Leaf ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBPCase) activities and ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP) levels were measured at selected times after planting. Growth under the high CO₂ levels reduced the extractable RuBPCase activity by up to 22%, but increased the daytime RuBP levels by up to 20%.

Diurnal measurements of RuBPCase (expressed in micromoles CO₂ per milligram chlorophyll per hour) showed that the enzyme values were low (230) when sampled before sunrise, even when activated in vitro with saturating HCO₃⁻ and Mg²⁺, but increased to 590 during the day as the solar quantum irradiance (photosynthetically active radiation or PAR, in micromoles per square meter per second) rose to 600. The nonactivated RuBPCase values, which averaged 20% lower than the corresponding HCO₃⁻ and Mg²⁺-activated values, increased in a similar manner with increasing solar PAR. The per cent RuBPCase activation (the ratio of nonactivated to maximum-activated values) increased from 40% before dawn to 80% during the day. Leaf RuBP levels (expressed in nanomoles per milligram chlorophyll) were close to zero before sunrise but increased to a maximum of 220 as the solar PAR rose beyond 1200. In a chamber kept dark throughout the morning, leaf RuBPCase activities and RuBP levels remained at the predawn values. Upon removal of the cover at noon, the HCO₃⁻ and Mg²⁺-activated RuBPCase values and the RuBP levels rose to 465 and 122, respectively, after only 5 minutes of leaf exposure to solar PAR at 1500.

These results indicate that, in soybean leaves, light may exert a regulatory effect on extractable RuBPCase in addition to the well-established activation by CO₂ and Mg²⁺.

     

Photosynthesis in Polyploid Tall Fescue : II. PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND RIBULOSE-1, 5-BISPHOSPHATE CARBOXYLASE OF POLYPLOID TALL FESCUE

Net photosynthesis on a leaf area and leaf weight basis increased significantly with ploidy in a 4X, 6X, 8X and 10X allopolyploid series of tail fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.). Total protein did not increase significantly with ploidy. Rocket immunoelectrophoresis was used to quantitate ribulose-1, 5-bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBPCase) protein. RuBPCase content, expressed on both a concentration basis and as a percentage of total protein increased significantly with ploidy in both field and greenhouse experiments. The range of RuBPCase content was 16 to 73% of total protein and 2.8 and 6.5 mg/ml of extract. Specific activity of RuBPCase did not increase significantly with ploidy. Chlorophyll concentration increased as a quadratic function of ploidy, with the mean for 8X genotypes representing maximal chlorophyll content. Evidence is presented that increasing concentrations of RuBPCase are associated with higher net photosynthesis rates in tall fescue. This suggests that RuBPCase may represent a marker for increased net photosynthesis. RuBPCase was extracted in a partially active state or inhibited state and must be fully activated by Mg²⁺ and HCO₃⁻ to measure maximal activities. Polyploidization appeared to increase selectively the allocation of total protein for synthesis of RuBPCase; however, there was also a range for carboxylase content among the genotypes within a given ploidy level.     

Relationship of Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate Carboxylase-Oxygenase Specific Activity to Subunit Composition

Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (RuBPCase, EC 4.1.1.39) was isolated from Nicotiana sylvestris and from two cultivars and three nuclear substitution lines of Nicotiana tabacum. Isoelectric focusing patterns, supported by amino acid analyses and tryptic peptide mapping, were used to divide these enzymes into two categories: (a) RuBPCase with variable large subunits and identical small subunits; and (b) RuBPCase with identical large but different small subunits. Specific activities for both the carboxylation and oxygenation reactions were determined for all six RuBPCase enzymes under standard conditions of activation and assay. High, intermediate, and low levels of carboxylase (880, 530, and 340 nanomoles HCO₃⁻ per milligram per minute) and oxygenase (66, 45, and 35 nanomoles O₂ per milligram per minute) activity were noted. The carboxylase to oxygenase ratios ranged from 9 to 14.     

Properties of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase from dark- and light-exposed soybean leaves

The low activity of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase from darkened soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr. cv. Bragg) leaves was not raised to the level of that from leaves in the light by CO₂ and Mg²⁺, even after a 4-h incubation. The extract of darkened leaves, unlike the extract from illuminated leaves, was not fully CO₂/Mg²⁺-activatable after Sephadex gel filtration in the absence of Mg²⁺. (NH₄)₂SO₄ fractionation eliminated the inhibition effect found in the dark extracts resulting in similar rates for the extracts obtained from leaves in the dark and light. Although the V_max values of the gel-filtered extracts from dark and light leaves differed by 3-fold, the K_m(CO₂)-values were the same (12.7 μM), as were the K_m(RuBP)-values (250 μM). These data support the hypothesis that for soybean leaves in the dark a tightly-binding inhibitor renders much of the ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase enzyme catalytically non-functional.     

Factors affecting interconversion between kinetic forms of ribulose diphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase from spinach

Ribulose diphosphate carboxylase was found to exist in two distinct kinetic forms in spinach leaf extracts. One form displayed an apparent K_m for CO₂ in excess of 200 μm and is likely to be the form purified and studied by many previous workers. However, if leaf extracts were prepared in the presence of Mg²⁺ and atmospheric levels of CO₂, the recently described high-affinity form was obtained. It had a K_m for CO₂ of about 20 μm, was quite stable even at 25 °C, and its properties were consistent with it being the form which operates in photosynthesis in vivo. Mg²⁺ was also able to convert the high-K_m (CO₂) form to the low-K_m (CO₂) form when it was added to an extract which had been prepared in its absence. Mg²⁺ was more effective in causing this conversion if bicarbonate was added as well. This activating effect of bicarbonate is a probable cause of previously reported apparent homotropic effects of bicarbonate on ribulose diphosphate carboxylase activity. It is possible that the apparently high-K_m (CO₂) form is not intrinsically active and appears to have activity only by virtue of the low-K_m (CO₂) form produced by contact with Mg²⁺ and bicarbonate (or CO₂) during the course of the assay. Extracts prepared with ribose 5-phosphate in the absence of Mg₂₊ also showed low-K_m (CO₂) carboxylase activity initially, but the presence of this sugar phosphate was deleterious during storage at 25 °C, where it promoted conversion to the apparently high-K_m (CO₂) form.Effects on the affinity of ribulose diphosphate carboxylase for CO₂ were paralleled by effects on the activity of the associated ribulose diphosphate oxygenase. Treatments which produced the low-K_m (CO₂) form of the carboxylase also resulted in high oxygenase activity, and it is possible that the apparently high-K_m (CO₂) form of the carboxylase has little, if any, oxygenase activity associated with it.The carboxylase and oxygenase activities of the low-K_m (CO₂) form showed broad and quite similar responses to pH variation, and the oxygenase had a K_m for O₂ of 0.22 mm.The stability of the low-K_m (CO₂) form in the presence of Mg²⁺ and bicarbonate was quite sufficient for it to be partially purified by Sepharose chromatography. The significance of the low-K_m (CO₂) form is discussed with respect to activation of photosynthesis by Mg²⁺.     

EXPRESSION OF THE C4 PATTERN OF PHOTOSYNTHETIC ENZYME ACCUMULATION DURING LEAF DEVELOPMENT IN ATRIPLEX ROSEA (CHENOPODIACEAE)

Immunolocalization of the bundle sheath-specific enzyme, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBPCase), and of the mesophyll-specific enzyme, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPCase), was used to follow development of the C₄ pattern of photosynthetic enzyme expression during leaf growth in Atriplex rosea. The leaf tissue used for this characterization was also used in a parallel ultrastructural study, so that the temporal coordination of developmental changes in enzyme expression and cell structure could be monitored. Bundle sheath-specific accumulation of RuBPCase occurs early, at the time that bundle sheath tissue is delimited from the ground meristem, and follows the order of vein initiation. PEPCase proteins were detected 2–4 days after the first appearance of RuBPCase. PEPCase accumulation is restricted to ground meristem cells that are in direct contact with bundle sheath tissue and that will become C₄ mesophyll; PEPCase was never found in more distant ground tissue. This pattern suggests that, while bundle sheath-specific accumulation of RuBPCase coincides with formation of the appropriate precursor cells, PEPCase expression is delayed until mesophyll tissue reaches a critical developmental stage. Cell-specific expression of both photosynthetic enzymes occurs well before the striking anatomical divergence of bundle sheath and mesophyll tissues, suggesting that biochemical compartmentation might serve as a developmental signal for subsequent structural differentiation.     

Ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase and oxygenase from Thiocapsa roseopersicina: activation and catalysis.

Ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase purified from malate-grown Thiocapsa roseopersicina required Mg²⁺ for the activation of both carboxylase and oxygenase activities. Mg²⁺ was either not required or required at very low concentrations for catalysis by both enzyme activities. EDTA and dithiothreitol had no effect on ribulose 1,5-biphosphate oxygenase. The K_0.5 values with respect to Mg²⁺ for activation of the carboxylase and oxygenase activities were 8.4 and 2 mm, respectively. Ribulose 1,5-biphosphate carboxylase and oxygenase activities revealed differential sensitivities to 6-phosphogluconate. This ligand at 1 mm inhibited the carboxylase activity 30%, whereas the oxygenase activity was inhibited by 69%.     

Mass-spectrometric evidence for the double-carboxylation pathway of malate synthesis by Crassulacean acid metabolism plants in light

Phyllodia of the Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plant Kalanchoë tubiflora were allowed to fix ¹³CO₂ in light and darkness during phase IV of the diurnal CAM cycle, and during prolongation of the regular light period. After ¹³CO₂ fixation in darkness, only singly labelled [¹³C]malate molecules were found. Fixation of ¹³CO₂ under illumination, however, produced singly labelled malate as well as malate molecules which carried label in two, three or four carbon atoms. When the irradiance during ¹³CO₂ fixation was increased, the proportion of singly labelled malate decreased in favour of plurally labelled malate. The irradiance, however, did not change either the ratio of labelled to unlabelled malate molecules found in the tissue after the ¹³CO₂ application, or the magnitude of malate accumulation during the treatment with label. The ability of the tissue to store malate and the labelling pattern changed throughout the duration of the prolonged light period. The results indicate that malate synthesis by CAM plants in light can proceed via a pathway containing two carboxylation steps, namely ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate-carboxylase/oxygenase (EC 4.1.1.39) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (EC 4.1.1.31) which operate in series and share common intermediates. It can be concluded that, in light, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase can also synthesize malate independently of the proceeding carboxylation step by ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase.Abbreviations CAM Crassulacean acid metabolism - PEP phosphoenolpyruvate - PEPCase phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (EC 4.1.1.31) - RuBPCase ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (EC 4.1.1.39) - TMS trimethylsilyl     

Purification by Immunoadsorption and Immunochemical Properties of NADP-Dependent Malic Enzymes from Leaves of C(3), C(4), and Crassulacean Acid Metabolism Plants

NADP:malic enzyme from corn (Zea mays L.) leaves was purified by conventional techniques to apparent homogeneity as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Antibodies raised against this protein in rabbits were purified, coupled covalently to protein A-Sepharose CL-4B, and used as an immunoaffinity resin to purify the NADP:malic enzymes of the C₃ plants spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), of the Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plant Bryophyllum daigremontianum R. Hamed et Perr. de la Bathie and the C₄ plants corn, sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.), and Portulaca grandiflora L. Such procedures yielded homogeneous protein preparations with a single protein band, as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, except for P. grandiflora L. with two bands. The specific activities of the purified proteins ranged between 56 and 91 units (milligrams per protein). NADP:malic enzyme represented up to 1% of the total soluble protein in C₄ plants, 0.5% in the CAM plant, and less than 0.01% in C₃ plants. In immunotitration tests involving immunoprecipitation and immunoinhibition of activity by an antiserum against the corn leaf enzyme, the NADP:malic enzymes of corn and sugarcane showed virtually full identity of epitopes, while the NADP:malic enzymes of the C₃ and CAM plants exhibited a cross-reaction of one-twentieth and one-fourth by these tests, respectively. The NADP:malic enzyme of P. grandiflora exhibited characteristics more closely related to the enzymes of C₃ and CAM plants than to those of C₄ plants.     

Carbon dioxide assimilation in some aerial plant organs and tissues

Summary CO₂ fixation characteristics of a number of mature (but not senescing) tissues and organs (the outer layers of green pod and the seed testa of Vicia faba L.; the outer layers of green pod and seeds of Trigonella foenum-graecum L.; the outer layers of the green fruit of Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) were studied and compared with their respective C₃ leaf characteristics. On a chlorophyll basis phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, malic enzyme (NADP) and malate dehydrogenase (NAD and NADP) acitivites were much higher in the non-leaf tissues (except for V. faba seed testa) than the leaf tissues. Generally, on a protein basis the differences were less significant. All tissues possessed ribulose-1.5-diphosphate carboxylase activity though there was great variation in activities both on a protein and chlorophyll basis. Protein: chlorophyll ratios varied greatly from tissue to tissue being lowest in the leaf tissue (11.5–14.0) and highest in V. faba seed testa (805.5). Chlorophyll a:b ratios were all between 2 and 3. ¹⁴CO₂ uptake in the dark by L. esculentum fruit slices was about 1/3 that in the light and the major, initially labelled product was malate both in the light and dark. Neither typical C₄-photosynthesis or crassulacean acid metabolism were exhibited by the non-leaf tissues and it was considered that the increased levels of certain enzyme activities were present to refix and recycle respired CO₂.Abbreviations PEP phosphoenolpyruvate - RuDP ribulose -1,5-, diphosphate - MDH malate dehydrogenase - CAM Crassulacean acid metabolism - OAA oxaloacetic acid     

Activity and quantity of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase-and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase-protein in two Crassulacean acid metabolism plants in relation to leaf age,nitrogen nutrition,and point in time during a day/night cycle

Activity of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP) carboxylase in leaf extracts of the constitutive Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plant Kalanchoe pinnata (Lam.) Pers. decreased with increasing leaf age, whereas the activity of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxylase increased. Changes in enzyme activities were associated with changes in the amount of enzyme proteins as determined by immunochemical analysis, sucrose density gradient centrifugation, and SDS gel electrophoresis of leaf extracts. Young developing leaves of plants which received high amounts of NO ₃ ^- during growth contained about 30% of the total soluble protein in the form of RuBP carboxylase; this value declined to about 17% in mature leaves. The level of PEP carboxylase in young leaves of plants at high NO ₃ ^- was an estimated 1% of the total soluble protein and increased to approximately 10% in mature leaves, which showed maximum capacity for dark CO₂ fixation. The growth of plants at low levels of NO ₃ ^- decreased the content of soluble protein per unit leaf area as well as the extractable activity and the percentage contribution of both RUBP carboxylase and PEP carboxylase to total soluble leaf protein. There was no definite change in the ratio of RuBP carboxylase to PEP carboxylase activity with a varying supply of NO ₃ ^- during growth. It has been suggested (e.g., Planta 144, 143–151, 1978) that a rhythmic pattern of synthesis and degradation of PEP carboxylase protein is involved in the regulation of -carboxylation during a day/night cycle in CAM. No such changes in the quantity of PEP carboxylase protein were observed in the leaves of Kalanchoe pinnata (Lam.) Pers. or in the leaves of the inducible CAM plant Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L.Abbreviations CAM Crassulacean acid metabolism - RuBP ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate - PEP phosphoenolpyruvate - G-6-P glucose-6-phosphate     

Variation in cellular ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate-carboxylase content in leaves of Triticum genotypes at three levels of ploidy

Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (EC 1.1.39) (RuBPCase) was quantified using polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis in whole 9-d-old first leaves of 14 genotypes of Triticum, and cellular RuBPCase levels calculated. Diploids, tetraploids and hexaploids were analysed and it was confirmed that the RuBPCase level per cell is closely related to ploidy in wheat. Inter-genotypic variation in RuBPCase levels per cell and per leaf were surveyed. It was found that the interactions between leaf size, cell size and RuBPCase levels result in small variations in RuBPCase levels per unit leaf area between genotypes.Abbreviation RuBPCase ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase     

Photosynthesis and Activation of Ribulose Bisphosphate Carboxylase in Wheat Seedlings : Regulation by CO(2) and O(2)

Photosynthetic carbon assimilation in plants is regulated by activity of the ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP) carboxylase/oxygenase. Although the carboxylase requires CO₂ to activate the enzyme, changes in CO₂ between 100 and 1,400 microliters per liter did not cause changes in activation of the leaf carboxylase in light. With these CO₂ levels and 21% O₂ or 1% or less O₂, the levels of ribulose bisphosphate were high and not limiting for CO₂ fixation. With high leaf ribulose bisphosphate, the K_act(CO₂) of the carboxylase must be lower than in dark, where RuBP is quite low in leaves. When leaves were illuminated in the absence of CO₂ and O₂, activation of the carboxylase dropped to zero while RuBP levels approached the binding site concentration of the carboxylase, probably by forming the inactive enzyme-RuBP complex.

The mechanism for changing activation of the RuBP carboxylase in the light involves not only Mg²⁺ and pH changes in the chloroplast stroma, but also the effects of binding RuBP to the enzyme. In light when RuBP is greater than the binding site concentration of the carboxylase, Mg²⁺ and pH most likely determine the ratio of inactive enzyme-RuBP to active enzyme-CO₂-Mg²⁺-RuBP forms. Higher irradiances favor more optimal Mg²⁺ and pH, with greater activation of the carboxylase and increased photosynthesis.

     

Photoaffinity labeling of ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase with 8-azidoadenosine 5′-triphosphate

Photoaffinity labeling with [³²P] 8-azidoadenosine 5-triphosphate (8-N₃ATP) was used to identify putative binding sites on tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. and N. rustica L.) leaf ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBPCase, EC 4.1.1.39). Incorporation of ³²P was observed in polypeptides corresponding to both RuBPCase subunits when desalted leaf and chloroplast extracts, and purified RuBPCase were irradiated with ultraviolet light in the presence of [³²P] 8-N₃ATP. ³²P-labeling was dependent upon ultraviolet irradiation and occurred with [³²P] 8-N₃ATP labeled in the -position, indicating covalent incorporation of the photoprobe. Both [³²P] 8-N₃ATP and [³²P] 8-N₃GTP were incorporated to a similar extent into the 53-kilodalton (kDa) large subunit (LSu), but incorporation of [³²P] 8-N₃GTP into the 14-kDa small subunit (SSu) of RuBPCase was <5% of that measured with [³²P] 8-N₃ATP. Distinct binding sites for 8-N₃ATP on the two subunits were indicated by different apparent K _D values, 3 and 18 M for the SSu and LSu, respectively, and differences in the response of photoaffinity labeling to Mg²⁺, anions and enzyme activation. Active-site-directed compounds, including the non-gaseous substrate ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate, the reaction intermediate analog 2-carboxyarabinitol-1,5-bisphosphate and several phosphorylated effectors afforded protection to the LSu site against photoincorporation but provided almost no protection to the SSu. These results indicate that 8-N₃ATP binds to the active-site region of the LSu and a distinct site on the SSu of RuBPCase. Experiments conducted with intact pea (Pisum sativum L.) and tobacco chloroplasts showed that the SSu was not photolabeled with [³²P] 8-N₃ATP in organello or in undesalted chloroplast lysates but was photolabeled when lysates were ultrafiltered or desalted. These results indicate that 8-N₃ATP binds to a site on the SSu that has physiological significance.Abbreviations kDa kilodalton - LSu large subunit - 8-N₃ATP 8-azidoadenosine 5-triphosphate - RuBP ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate - RuBPCase ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase - SSu small subunit Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station Journal Article No. 89-3-150The authors acknowledge the technical assistance of J.C. Anderson. This work was supported in part by National Institute of Health grant GM 35766 to B.E.H.     

Regulation of malic-acid metabolism in Crassulacean-acid-metabolism plants in the dark and light: In-vivo evidence from 13C-labeling patterns after 13CO2 fixation

The labeling patterns in malic acid from dark ¹³CO₂ fixation in seven species of succulent plants with Crassulacean acid metabolism were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and ¹³C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry. Only singly labeled malic-acid molecules were detected and on the average, after 12–14 h dark ¹³CO₂ fixation the ratio of [4-¹³C] to [1-¹³C] label was 2:1. However the 4-C carboxyl contained from 72 to 50% of the label depending on species and temperature. The ¹³C enrichment of malate and fumarate was similar. These data confirm those of W. Cockburn and A. McAuley (1975, Plant Physiol. 55, 87–89) and indicate fumarase randomization is responsible for movement of label to 1-C malic acid following carboxylation of phosphoenolpyruvate. The extent of randomization may depend on time and on the balance of malic-acid fluxes between mitochondria and vacuoles. The ratio of labeling in 4-C to 1-C of malic acid which accumulated following ¹³CO₂ fixation in the dark did not change during deacidification in the light and no doubly-labeled molecules of malic acid were detected. These results indicate that further fumarase randomization does not occur in the light, and futile cycling of decarboxylation products of [¹³C] malic acid (¹³CO₂ or [1-¹³C]pyruvate) through phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase does not occur, presumably because malic acid inhibits this enzyme in the light in vivo. Short-term exposure to ¹³CO₂ in the light after deacidification leads to the synthesis of singly and multiply labeled malic acid in these species, as observed by E.W. Ritz et al. (1986, Planta 167, 284–291). In the shortest times, only singly-labeled [4-¹³C]malate was detected but this may be a consequence of the higher intensity and better detection statistics of this ion cluster during mass spectrometry. We conclude that both phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (EC 4.1.1.32) and ribulose-1,5-biphosphate carboxylase (EC 4.1.1.39) are active at this time.Abbreviations CAM Crassulacean acid metabolism - GCMS gas chromatography-mass spectrometry - MS mass spectrometry - NMR nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry - PEP phosphoenolpyruvate - RuBP ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate     

Identification and levels of 2'-carboxyarabinitol in leaves

2′-Carboxyarabinitol 1-phosphate (CA1P) is a naturally occurring inhibitor of ribulose-1,5 bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase activity. A chloroplast phosphatase has previously been identified that degrades CA1P in vitro to carboxyarabinitol (CA) plus phosphate, but CA has not yet been detected in plants. Here, we detail procedures to isolate and assay CA from leaves and utilize mass spectrometry to demonstrate for the first time that CA is present in plants. CA was present in leaves of all 13 species examined, including those of C₃, C₄, and Crassulacean acid metabolism photosynthetic subgroups. CA was present both in species with high levels of CA1P (e.g. Phaseolus vulgaris, Lycopersicon esculentum, Beta vulgaris) as well as in species with low levels of CA1P (e.g. Spinacea oleracea, Triticum aestivum). CA levels in the light were sometimes greater than those in the dark. Bean leaves had the most CA of any species tested, with levels in the light approaching 1 micromole per milligram of chlorophyll. In illuminated bean leaves, about 63% of the CA is located outside the chloroplast. CA is one of only a few branched chain sugar acids to be identified from plants.     

Products of photosynthetic 14CO2 fixation and related enzyme activities in fruiting structures of chickpea

Fruiting structures of a number of legumes including chickpea are known to carry out photosynthetic CO₂ assimilation, but the pathway of CO₂ fixation and particularly the role of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (EC 4.1.1.31) in these tissues is not clear. Activities of some key enzymes of the Calvin cycle and C₄ metabolism, rates of ¹⁴CO₂ fixation in light and dark, and initial products of photosynthetic ¹⁴CO₂ fixation were determined in podwall and seedcoat (fruiting structures) and their subtending leaf in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Compared to activities of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (EC 4.1.1.39) and other Calvin cycle enzyme, viz. NADP⁺-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.13), NAD⁺-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.12) and ribulose-5-phosphate kinase (EC 2.7.1.19), the levels of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and other enzymes of C₄ metabolism viz. NADP⁺-malate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.82), NAD⁺-malate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.37), NADP⁺ malic enzyme (EC 1.1.1.40), NAD⁺-malic enzyme (EC 1.1.1.39), glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (EC 2.6.1.1) and glutamate pyruvate transaminase (EC 2.6.1.2), were generally much higher in podwall and seedcoat than in the leaf. Podwall and seedcoat fixed ¹⁴CO₂ in light and dark at much higher rates than the leaf. Short-term assimilation of ¹⁴CO₂ by illuminated fruiting structures produced malate as the major labelled product with less labelling in 3-phosphoglycerate, whereas the leaf showed a major incorporation into 3-phosphoglycerate. It seems likely that the fruiting structures of chickpea utilize phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase for recapturing the respired carbon dioxide.