Inhibition of sucrose phosphatase by sucrose

1. Partially purified sucrose phosphatase from immature stem tissue of sugarcane is inhibited by sucrose. The enzyme was also inhibited by maltose, melezitose and 6-kestose but not by eight other sugars, including glucose and fructose. 2. The relative effectiveness of sucrose, maltose and melezitose as inhibitors is different for sucrose phosphatase from different plants. 3. The inhibition of the sugar-cane enzyme by sucrose was shown to be partially competitive. The K(i) for sucrose is about 10mm. 4. Melezitose is also a partially competitive inhibitor of the enzyme but the inhibition by maltose is probably mixed. 5. The possibility that sucrose controls both the rate of accumulation of sucrose in stems of sugar-cane and sucrose synthesis in leaves by inhibiting sucrose phosphatase is discussed.