Planta

, Volume 128, Issue 2, pp 149–154 | Cite as

Relationship between leaf development, carboxylase enzyme activities and photorespiration in the C4-plant Portulaca oleracea L.

  • Robert A. Kennedy
Article
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Summary

Ribulose diphosphate (RuDP) and (PEP) phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase enzyme activities were studied in young, mature, and senescent Portulaca oleracea leaves. While the absolute amount of both the C3 (RuDP) and C4 (PEP) carboxylase is less in senescent leaves than in mature leaves, RuDP carboxylase activity is reduced to a lesser degree. In senescent leaves, PEP carboxylase activity equals 10% of that in mature tissue, but RuDP carboxylase is 27% of that in mature leaves. The same ontogenetic series was also used to determine photorespiration rates and responses to several gas treatments. Young and mature leaves were unaffected by changes in the light regime or oxygen concentrations, and exhibited typical C4-plant light/dark 14CO2 evolution ratios. Senescent leaves, on the other hand, have photorespiration ratios similar to C3-plants. In addition, senescent leaves were affected by minus CO2, 100% O2 and N2 in a manner expected of C3-plants, but not C4-plants. These results are discussed in terms of a relative increase in activity of the C3 cycle in later developmental stages in this plant.

Keywords

Diphosphate Mature Leaf Phosphoenolpyruvate Ribulose 14CO2 Evolution 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Abbreviation

RuDP

ribulose diphosphate

PEP

phosphoenolpyruvate

PGA

phosphoglyceric acid

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag 1976

Authors and Affiliations

  • Robert A. Kennedy
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of BotanyUniversity of IowaIowa CityUSA

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