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. 1981 Dec;68(6):1257–1263. doi: 10.1104/pp.68.6.1257

Effects of Magnesium on Intact Chloroplasts 1

II. CATION SPECIFICITY AND INVOLVEMENT OF THE ENVELOPE ATPase IN (SODIUM) POTASSIUM/PROTON EXCHANGE ACROSS THE ENVELOPE

Wendy J Maury 1,2,3, Steven C Huber 1,2,3, Donald E Moreland 1,2,3
PMCID: PMC426084  PMID: 16662089

Abstract

Addition of exogenous Mg2+ (2 millimolar) to illuminated intact spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) chloroplasts caused acidification of the stroma and a 20% decrease in stromal K+. Addition of K+ (10-50 millimolar) reversed both stromal acidification and K+ efflux from the chloroplast caused by Mg2+. These data suggested that Mg2+ induced reversible H+/K+ fluxes across the chloroplast envelope. Ca2+ and Mn2+ (2 millimolar) were as effective as 4 millimolar Mg2+ in causing K+ efflux from chloroplasts and inhibition of O2 evolution. In contrast, 10 millimolar Ba2+ induced only a small amount of inhibition. The lack of strong inhibition by Ba2+ indicated that the effects of divalent cations such as Mg2+ cannot be attributed to generalized electrostatic interactions of the cation with the chloroplast envelope. With the chloroplasts used in this study, stromal acidification caused by 2 millimolar Mg2+ was small (0.07 to 0.15 pH units), but sufficient to account for the inhibition of O2 evolution (43%) induced by Mg2+.

A variety of ATPase inhibitors were tested for effects on Mg2+-induced H+/K+ fluxes. Oligomycin was the only ATPase inhibitor which specifically inhibited photosynthesis in the presence of Mg2+ + K+, but had little or no effect in the absence of these cations. In the presence of oligomycin, much higher concentrations (50 millimolar) of exogenous K+ were required to reverse Mg2+-induced acidification and inhibition of O2 evolution than in its absence. Oligomycin (in the absence of divalent cations) increased the inhibition of photosynthesis caused by sodium acetate, which acts by causing stromal acidification. In addition, the chloroplast envelope ATPase was inhibited partially (45%) by oligomycin. These results suggested that H+ fluxes across the chloroplast envelope are regulated by two mechanisms: (a) an active, oligomycin-sensitive H+ efflux and (b) a reversible, Mg2+-dependent, oligomycin-insensitive H+/K+ exchange.

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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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