Localisation of sucrose-phosphate synthase and starch in leaves of C4 plants

The activity and intercellular distribution of sucrose-phosphate synthase (SPS; EC 2.4.1.14) were determined in fully expanded leaves from a range of C₄ plants. In Zea mays L. and Atriplex spongiosa F. Muell., SPS was located almost exclusively in the mesophyll cells. In other species, SPS was found in both cell types, with the activity in the bundle sheath cells ranging from 5% of the total leaf activity in Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv. to 35% in Sorghum bicolor Moench. At the end of the light period, starch was found only in the bundle sheath cells in all of the species examined. There appears to be little correlation between C₄-acid decarboxylation type and the location of sucrose and starch synthesis in the leaves of C₄ plants. Received: 18 October 1996 / Accepted: 20 November 1996