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Title: Amino acid synthesis in photosynthesizing spinach cells: effects of ammonia on pool sizes and rates of labeling from /sup 14/CO/sub 2/

Journal Article · · Plant Physiol.; (United States)
OSTI ID:6570455

Isolated cells from leaves of Spinacia oleracea have been maintained in a state capable of high rates of photosynthetic CO/sub 2/ fixation for more than 60 hours. The incorporation of /sup 14/CO/sub 2/ under saturating CO/sub 2/ conditions into carbohydrates, carboxylic acids, and amino acids, and the effect of ammonia on this incorporation have been studied. Total incorporation, specific radioactivity, and pool size have been determined as a function of time for most of the protein amino acids and for ..gamma..-aminobutyric acid. The measurements of specific radio-activities and of the approaches to /sup 14/C saturation of some amino acids indicate the presence and relative sizes of metabolically active and passive pools of these amino acids. Added ammonia decreased carbon fixation into carbohydrates and increased fixation into carboxylic acids and amino acids. The results indicate that added ammonia stimulates the reactions mediated by pyruvate kinase and phosphenoenolpyruvate carboxylase, as seen with other plant systems. The data on the effects of added ammonia on total labeling, pool sizes, and specific radioactivities of several amino acids provides a number of indications about the intracellular sites of principal synthesis from carbon skeletons of these amino acids and the selective nature of effects of increased intracellular ammonia concentration on-such synthesis.

Research Organization:
Univ. of California, Berkeley
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-48
OSTI ID:
6570455
Journal Information:
Plant Physiol.; (United States), Vol. 68
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English