Skip to main content
Plant Physiology logoLink to Plant Physiology
. 1967 May;42(5):659–666. doi: 10.1104/pp.42.5.659

Inositol Metabolism in Plants. IV. Biosynthesis of Apiose in Lemna and Petroselinum

R M Roberts 1, R H Shah 1, F Loewus 1,1
PMCID: PMC1086598  PMID: 16656551

Abstract

The biosynthesis of apiose was investigated in cell wall polysaccharide of Lemna gibba G3 (duckweed) and in detached leaves of Petroselinum crispum (parsley). Lemna grown either in short days or in continuous light incorporated 14C from a medium containing myo-inositol-2-14C into d-apiosyl and d-xylosyl units of cell wall polysaccharides. Labeled d-apiose was characterized by paper chromatography, by formation of labeled crystalline di-O-isopropylidene d-apiose, and by gas chromatography of trimethylsilyl derivatives of apiose and of its sodium borohydride reduction product, apiitol. Periodate oxidation of labeled apiose revealed 86 to 94% of the 14C was located in formaldehyde fragments corresponding to C3′ and C4. Comparison of this result with work reported by Grisebach and Doebereiner and by Beck and Kandler supports the conclusion that myo-inositol-2-14C was converted to d-apiose labeled specifically at C4.

When l-arabinose-l-14C was supplied to Lemna, both l-arabinosyl and d-xylosyl units of cell wall polysaccharides became labeled, but no 14C was found in d-apiose. Analysis of the medium external to the plants revealed the presence of a polysaccharide-like polymer that also contained labeled xylose and arabinose.

Petroselinum leaves utilized myo-inositol-2-3H for the synthesis of apiose in apiin.

These results provide direct evidence for a pathway of apiose biosynthesis involving d-glucuronic acid metabolism.

Full text

PDF
662

Selected References

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

  1. BLOOM B. The simultaneous determination of C14 and H3 in the terminal groups of glucose. Anal Biochem. 1962 Jan;3:85–87. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(62)90048-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bruton J., Horner W. H. Biosynthesis of streptomycin. 3. Origin of the carbon atoms of streptose. J Biol Chem. 1966 Jul 10;241(13):3142–3146. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Candy D. J., Baddiley J. The biosynthesis of streptomycin. The origin of the C-formyl group of streptose. Biochem J. 1965 Aug;96(2):526–529. doi: 10.1042/bj0960526. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Candy D. J., Blumsom N. L., Baddiley J. The biosynthesis of streptomycin. Incorporation of 14C-labelled compounds into streptose and N-methyl-L-glucosamine. Biochem J. 1964 Apr;91(1):31–35. doi: 10.1042/bj0910031. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. DUFF R. B. THE OCCURRENCE OF APIOSE IN LEMNA (DUCKWEED) AND OTHER ANGIOSPERMS. Biochem J. 1965 Mar;94:768–772. doi: 10.1042/bj0940768. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. LOEWUS F. A. INOSITOL METABOLISM IN PLANTS. II. THE ABSOLUTE CONFIGURATION OF D-XYLOSE-5-T DERIVED METABOLICALLY FROM MYO-INOSITOL-2-T IN THE RIPENING STRAWBERRY. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1964 Jun;105:590–598. doi: 10.1016/0003-9861(64)90055-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. LOEWUS F. A., JANG R. The conversion of C14-labeled sugars to L-ascorbic acid in ripening strawberries. III. Labeling patterns from berries administered pentose-1-C14. J Biol Chem. 1958 May;232(1):521–532. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Loewus F. Inositol metabolism and cell wall formation in plants. Fed Proc. 1965 Jul-Aug;24(4):855–862. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. NEISH A. C. The biosynthesis of cell wall carbohydrates. IV. Further studies on cellulose and xylan in wheat. Can J Biochem Physiol. 1958 Feb;36(2):187–193. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Roberts R. M., Shah R., Loewus F. Conversion of myo-inositol-2-14C to labeled 4-O-methyl-glucuronic acid in the cell wall of maize root tips. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1967 Mar;119(1):590–593. doi: 10.1016/0003-9861(67)90499-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES