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. 1986 Dec;82(4):1169–1171. doi: 10.1104/pp.82.4.1169

Some Enzymes of Hydrogen Peroxide Metabolism in Leaves and Root Nodules of Medicago sativa1

Manuel Becana 1, Pedro Aparicio-Tejo 1, Juan Jose Irigoyen 1, Manuel Sanchez-Diaz 1
PMCID: PMC1056282  PMID: 16665158

Abstract

Leaves and nodules (bacteroids and cytosol) of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. cv Aragon) plants inoculated with Rhizobium meliloti strain 102F51 have been analyzed for the presence of the enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD, EC 1.15.1.1), catalase (EC 1.11.1.6), and peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.7). All three fractions investigated (leaves, bacteroids, and nodular cytosol) show Cu,Zn-SOD activity. Besides, the bacteroids and cytosol of nodules possess CN−-insensitive SOD activities. Studies of SOD inactivation with H2O2 indicate that, very likely, a Mn-SOD is present in the bacteroids, and suggest that the cytosol contain both Mn-SOD and Fe-SOD. Bacteroids show high catalase activity but lack peroxidase. By contrast, the nodule cytosol exhibits an elevated peroxidase activity as compared with the foliar tissue; this activity was completely inhibited by 50 to 100 micromolar KCN. The significantly lower contents of H2O2 and malondialdehyde (a product of lipid peroxidation) in nodules with respect to those in leaves reveal that the above-mentioned bacteroid and cytosol enzymes act in an efficient and combined manner to preserve integrity of nodule cell membranes and to keep leghemoglobin active.

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Selected References

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

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