Skip to main content
PMC home page
Plant Physiology logoLink to Plant Physiology
. 1984 Jul;75(3):554–560. doi: 10.1104/pp.75.3.554

Control of Photosynthetic Sucrose Synthesis by Fructose 2,6-Bisphosphate 1

II. Partitioning between Sucrose and Starch

Mark Stitt 1, Birgit Kürzel 1, Hans W Heldt 1
PMCID: PMC1066954  PMID: 16663665

Abstract

The role of fructose 2,6 bisphosphate in partitioning of photosynthate between sucrose and starch has been studied in spinach (Spinacia oleracea U.S. hybrid 424). Spinach leaf material was pretreated to alter the sucrose content, so that the rate of starch synthesis could be varied. The level of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate and other metabolites was then related to the accumulation of sucrose and the rate of starch synthesis. The results show that fructose 2,6-bisphosphate is involved in a sequence of events which provide a fine control of sucrose synthesis so that more photosynthate is diverted into starch in conditions when sucrose has accumulated to high levels in the leaf tissue. (a) As sucrose levels in the leaf rise, there is an accumulation of triose phosphates and hexose phosphates, implying an inhibition of sucrose phosphate synthase and cytosolic fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase. (b) In these conditions, fructose 2,6-bisphosphate increases. (c) The increased fructose 2,6-bisphosphate can be accounted for by the increased fructose 6-phosphate in the leaf. (d) Fructose 2,6-bisphosphate inhibits the cytosolic fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase so more photosynthate is retained in the chloroplast, and converted to starch.

Full text

PDF
554

Selected References

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

  1. Amir J., Preiss J. Kinetic characterization of spinach leaf sucrose-phosphate synthase. Plant Physiol. 1982 May;69(5):1027–1030. doi: 10.1104/pp.69.5.1027. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Fondy B. R., Geiger D. R. Diurnal Pattern of Translocation and Carbohydrate Metabolism in Source Leaves of Beta vulgaris L. Plant Physiol. 1982 Sep;70(3):671–676. doi: 10.1104/pp.70.3.671. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Gerhardt R., Heldt H. W. Measurement of subcellular metabolite levels in leaves by fractionation of freeze-stopped material in nonaqueous media. Plant Physiol. 1984 Jul;75(3):542–547. doi: 10.1104/pp.75.3.542. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Giersch C., Heber U., Kaiser G., Walker D. A., Robinson S. P. Intracellular metabolite gradients and flow of carbon during photosynthesis of leaf protoplasts. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1980 Nov;205(1):246–259. doi: 10.1016/0003-9861(80)90105-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Huber S. C. Role of sucrose-phosphate synthase in partitioning of carbon in leaves. Plant Physiol. 1983 Apr;71(4):818–821. doi: 10.1104/pp.71.4.818. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Outlaw W. H., Fisher D. B., Christy A. L. Compartmentation in Vicia faba Leaves: II. Kinetics of C-Sucrose Redistribution among Individual Tissues following Pulse Labeling. Plant Physiol. 1975 Apr;55(4):704–711. doi: 10.1104/pp.55.4.704. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Rufty T. W., Huber S. C. Changes in Starch Formation and Activities of Sucrose Phosphate Synthase and Cytoplasmic Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase in Response to Source-Sink Alterations. Plant Physiol. 1983 Jun;72(2):474–480. doi: 10.1104/pp.72.2.474. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Stitt M., Bulpin P. V., ap Rees T. Pathway of starch breakdown in photosynthetic tissues of Pisum sativum. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1978 Nov 15;544(1):200–214. doi: 10.1016/0304-4165(78)90223-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Stitt M., Gerhardt R., Kürzel B., Heldt H. W. A role for fructose 2,6-bisphosphate in the regulation of sucrose synthesis in spinach leaves. Plant Physiol. 1983 Aug;72(4):1139–1141. doi: 10.1104/pp.72.4.1139. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Stitt M., Herzog B., Heldt H. W. Control of Photosynthetic Sucrose Synthesis by Fructose 2,6-Bisphosphate : I. Coordination of CO(2) Fixation and Sucrose Synthesis. Plant Physiol. 1984 Jul;75(3):548–553. doi: 10.1104/pp.75.3.548. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Stitt M., Wirtz W., Heldt H. W. Metabolite levels during induction in the chloroplast and extrachloroplast compartments of spinach protoplasts. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1980 Nov 5;593(1):85–102. doi: 10.1016/0005-2728(80)90010-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Stitt M., Wirtz W., Heldt H. W. Regulation of Sucrose Synthesis by Cytoplasmic Fructosebisphosphatase and Sucrose Phosphate Synthase during Photosynthesis in Varying Light and Carbon Dioxide. Plant Physiol. 1983 Jul;72(3):767–774. doi: 10.1104/pp.72.3.767. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES