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Title: Respiration of sugars in spinach (Spinacia oleraces), maize (Zea mays), and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii F-60 chloroplasts with emphasis on the hexose kinases

Journal Article · · Plant Physiology; (United States)
OSTI ID:6247873
; ; ;  [1]
  1. Brandeis Univ., Waltham, MA (United States)

The role of hexokinase in carbohydrate degradation in isolated, intact chloroplasts was evaluated. This was accomplished by monitoring the evolution of [sup 14]CO[sub 2] from darkened spinach (Spinacia oleracea), maize (Zea mays) mesophyll, and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii chloroplasts externally supplied with [sup 14]C-labeled fructose, glucose, mannose, galactose, maltose, and ribose. Glucose and ribose were the preferred substrates with the Chlamydomonas and maize chloroplasts, respectively. The rate of CO[sub 2] release from fructose was about twice that from glucose in the spinach chloroplast. externally supplied ATP stimulated the rate of CO[sub 2] release. The pH optimum for CO[sub 2] release was 7.5 with ribose and fructose and 8.5 with glucose as substrates. Probing the outer membrane polypeptides of the intact spinach chloroplast with two proteases, trypsin and thermolysin, decreased [sup 14]CO[sub 2] release from glucose about 50% but had little effect when fructose was the substrate. Tryptic digestion decreased CO[sub 2] release from glucose in the Chlamydomonas chloroplast about 70%. [sup 14]CO[sub 2] evolution from [1-[sup 14]C]-glucose-6-phosphate in both chloroplasts was unaffected by treatment with trypsin. Enzymic analysis of the supernatant (stroma) of the lysed spinach chloroplast indicated a hexokinase active primarily with fructose but with some affinity for glucose. The pellet (membranal fraction) contained a hexokinase utilizing both glucose and fructose but with considerably less total activity than the stormal enzyme. Treatment with trypsin and thermolysin eliminated more than 50% of the glucokinase activity but had little effect on fructokinase activity in the spinach chloroplast. Tryptic digestion of the Chlamydomonas chloroplast resulted in a loss of about 90% of glucokinase activity. 34 refs., 2 figs., 6 tabs.

DOE Contract Number:
FG02-86ER13486
OSTI ID:
6247873
Journal Information:
Plant Physiology; (United States), Vol. 102:2; ISSN 0032-0889
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English