Skip to main content
PMC home page
Plant Physiology logoLink to Plant Physiology
. 1989 Feb;89(2):409–415. doi: 10.1104/pp.89.2.409

Mitochondrial Respiration Can Support NO3− and NO2− Reduction during Photosynthesis 1

Interactions between Photosynthesis, Respiration, and N Assimilation in the N-Limited Green Alga Selenastrum minutum

Harold G Weger 1, David H Turpin 1
PMCID: PMC1055855  PMID: 16666557

Abstract

Mass spectrometric analysis shows that assimilation of inorganic nitrogen (NH4+, NO2−, NO3−) by N-limited cells of Selenastrum minutum (Naeg.) Collins results in a stimulation of tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle) CO2 release in both the light and dark. In a previous study we have shown that TCA cycle reductant generated during NH4+ assimilation is oxidized via the cytochrome electron transport chain, resulting in an increase in respiratory O2 consumption during photosynthesis (HG Weger, DG Birch, IR Elrifi, DH Turpin [1988] Plant Physiol 86: 688-692). NO3− and NO2− assimilation resulted in a larger stimulation of TCA cycle CO2 release than did NH4+, but a much smaller stimulation of mitochondrial O2 consumption. NH4+ assimilation was the same in the light and dark and insensitive to DCMU, but was 82% inhibited by anaerobiosis in both the light and dark. NO3− and NO2− assimilation rates were maximal in the light, but assimilation could proceed at substantial rates in the light in the presence of DCMU and in the dark. Unlike NH4+, NO3− and NO2− assimilation were relatively insensitive to anaerobiosis. These results indicated that operation of the mitochondrial electron transport chain was not required to maintain TCA cycle activity during NO3− and NO2− assimilation, suggesting an alternative sink for TCA cycle generated reductant. Evaluation of changes in gross O2 consumption during NO3− and NO2− assimilation suggest that TCA cycle reductant was exported to the chloroplast during photosynthesis and used to support NO3− and NO2− reduction.

Full text

PDF
409

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Anderson J. W., House C. M. Polarographic study of oxaloacetate reduction by isolated pea chloroplasts. Plant Physiol. 1979 Dec;64(6):1058–1063. doi: 10.1104/pp.64.6.1058. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Birch D. G., Elrifi I. R., Turpin D. H. Nitrate and Ammonium Induced Photosynthetic Suppression in N-Limited Selenastrum minutum: II. Effects of NO(3) and NH(4) Addition to CO(2) Efflux in the Light. Plant Physiol. 1986 Nov;82(3):708–712. doi: 10.1104/pp.82.3.708. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Chapman E. A., Graham D. The Effect of Light on the Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle in Green Leaves: II. Intermediary Metabolism and the Location of Control Points. Plant Physiol. 1974 Jun;53(6):886–892. doi: 10.1104/pp.53.6.886. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Elrifi I. R., Holmes J. J., Weger H. G., Mayo W. P., Turpin D. H. RuBP Limitation of Photosynthetic Carbon Fixation during NH(3) Assimilation : Interactions between Photosynthesis, Respiration, and Ammonium Assimilation in N-Limited Green Algae. Plant Physiol. 1988 Jun;87(2):395–401. doi: 10.1104/pp.87.2.395. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Elrifi I. R., Turpin D. H. Nitrate and Ammonium Induced Photosynthetic Suppression in N-Limited Selenastrum minutum. Plant Physiol. 1986 May;81(1):273–279. doi: 10.1104/pp.81.1.273. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Elrifi I. R., Turpin D. H. The Path of Carbon Flow during NO(3)-Induced Photosynthetic Suppression in N-Limited Selenastrum minutum. Plant Physiol. 1987 Jan;83(1):97–104. doi: 10.1104/pp.83.1.97. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Journet E. P., Neuburger M., Douce R. Role of Glutamate-oxaloacetate Transaminase and Malate Dehydrogenase in the Regeneration of NAD for Glycine Oxidation by Spinach leaf Mitochondria. Plant Physiol. 1981 Mar;67(3):467–469. doi: 10.1104/pp.67.3.467. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kanazawa T., Kirk M. R., Bassham J. A. Regulatory effects of ammonia on carbon metabolism in photosynthesizing Chlorella pyrenoidosa. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1970 Jun 30;205(3):401–408. doi: 10.1016/0005-2728(70)90106-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Larsen P. O., Cornwell K. L., Gee S. L., Bassham J. A. Amino Acid Synthesis in Photosynthesizing Spinach Cells : EFFECTS OF AMMONIA ON POOL SIZES AND RATES OF LABELING FROM CO(2). Plant Physiol. 1981 Aug;68(2):292–299. doi: 10.1104/pp.68.2.292. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Lopez-Ruiz A., Verbelen J. P., Roldan J. M., Diez J. Nitrate reductase of green algae is located in the pyrenoid. Plant Physiol. 1985 Dec;79(4):1006–1010. doi: 10.1104/pp.79.4.1006. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Marsh H. V., Galmiche J. M., Gibbs M. Effect of Light on the Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle in Scenedesmus. Plant Physiol. 1965 Nov;40(6):1013–1022. doi: 10.1104/pp.40.6.1013. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Peltier G., Thibault P. O(2) uptake in the light in chlamydomonas: evidence for persistent mitochondrial respiration. Plant Physiol. 1985 Sep;79(1):225–230. doi: 10.1104/pp.79.1.225. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Stitt M., Lilley R. M., Heldt H. W. Adenine nucleotide levels in the cytosol, chloroplasts, and mitochondria of wheat leaf protoplasts. Plant Physiol. 1982 Oct;70(4):971–977. doi: 10.1104/pp.70.4.971. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Turpin D. H., Weger H. G. Steady-State Chlorophyll a Fluorescence Transients during Ammonium Assimilation by the N-Limited Green Alga Selenastrum minutum. Plant Physiol. 1988 Sep;88(1):97–101. doi: 10.1104/pp.88.1.97. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Weger H. G., Birch D. G., Elrifi I. R., Turpin D. H. Ammonium Assimilation Requires Mitochondrial Respiration in the Light : A Study with the Green Alga Selenastrum minutum. Plant Physiol. 1988 Mar;86(3):688–692. doi: 10.1104/pp.86.3.688. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Woo K. C., Jokinen M., Canvin D. T. Reduction of Nitrate via a Dicarboxylate Shuttle in a Reconstituted System of Supernatant and Mitochondria from Spinach Leaves. Plant Physiol. 1980 Mar;65(3):433–436. doi: 10.1104/pp.65.3.433. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Plant Physiology are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES