Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Effects of aminoacetonitrile on net photosynthesis, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate levels, and glycolate pathway intermediates

Journal Article · · Plant Physiol.; (United States)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.70.5.1444· OSTI ID:6656926

The effects of aminoacetonitrile (a competitive inhibitor of glycine oxidation) on net photosynthesis, glycolate pathway intermediates, and ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP) levels have been investigated at different O/sub 2/ and CO/sub 2/ concentrations with soybean leaf discs floated on 25 millimolar aminoacetonitrile (AAN) for 50 minutes prior to assay. At 11% to 60% O/sub 2/, AAN caused a decrease in net photosynthesis in addition to the inhibition by O/sub 2/. This extra inhibition ranged from 22% to 59% depending on the O/sub 2/ and CO/sub 2/ concentrations. The levels of RuBP, however, were 1.3 to 2.7 times higher than in the control plants at the same O/sub 2/ concentrations . At 40% O/sub 2/ and 200 microliters per liter CO/sub 2/ the inhibitor caused a 6-fold increase in glycine and more than 2-fold increase in glyoxylate levels, whereas those of glycolate decreased by approximately one-half. The decrease in net photosynthesis observed with AAN is not the result of the depletion of the RuBP pool due to the lack of recycling of carbon from the glycolate pathway to the Calvin cycle. The higher levels of RuBP caused by AAN in photorespiratory conditions, suggest that RuBP carboxylase was inhibited. Glyoxylate could be a possible candidate for the inhibition of the enzyme but what is know so far about its inhibitory properties in vitro may not fit the existing in vivo conditions. An alternative explanation for the inhibition is proposed.

Research Organization:
Iowa State Univ., Ames
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-80ER10685
OSTI ID:
6656926
Journal Information:
Plant Physiol.; (United States), Journal Name: Plant Physiol.; (United States) Vol. 70; ISSN PLPHA
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English