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. 1992 Jun;99(2):495–500. doi: 10.1104/pp.99.2.495

Activation of Respiration to Support Dark NO3− and NH4+ Assimilation in the Green Alga Selenastrum minutum 1

Greg C Vanlerberghe 1,2, Heather C Huppe 1, Katherine D M Vlossak 1, David H Turpin 1
PMCID: PMC1080490  PMID: 16668913

Abstract

Short-term changes in pyridine nucleotides and other key metabolites were measured during the onset of NO3− or NH4+ assimilation in the dark by the N-limited green alga Selenastrum minutum. When NH4+ was added to N-limited cells, the NADH/NAD ratio rose immediately and the NADPH/NADP ratio followed more slowly. An immediate decrease in glutamate and 2-oxoglutarate indicates an increased flux through the glutamine synthase/glutamate oxoglutarate aminotransferase. Pyruvate kinase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase are rapidly activated to supply carbon skeletons to the tricarboxylic acid cycle for amino acid synthesis. In contrast, NO3− addition caused an immediate decrease in the NADPH/NADP ratio that was accompanied by an increase in 6-phosphogluconate and decrease in the glucose-6-phosphate/6-phosphogluconate ratio. These changes show increased glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity, indicating that the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway supplies some reductant for NO3− assimilation in the dark. A lag of 30 to 60 seconds in the increase of the NADH/NAD ratio during NO3− assimilation correlates with a slow activation of pyruvate kinase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase. Together, these results indicate that during NH4+ assimilation, the demand for ATP and carbon skeletons to synthesize amino acid signals activation of respiratory carbon flow. In contrast, during NO3− assimilation, the initial demand on carbon respiration is for reductant and there is a lag before tricarboxylic acid cycle carbon flow is activated in response to the carbon demands of amino acid synthesis.

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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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