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Light-dependent net production of carbon monoxide by plants

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Abstract

PLANTS take up 14CO and incorporate it into organic compounds in the light and in the dark, and it has been suggested that this decreases the concentration of CO polluting the atmosphere1,2. Measurements of 14CO uptake, however, have excluded any concomitant release of CO by the plants and are insufficient for conclusions to be drawn on net CO exchange. Many organisms (microbia, plants, fungi and animals, including man) can produce CO (refs 3–5). We report here that using a Siemens U 180 process gas Chromatograph, we have observed a light-dependent net production of CO by intact plant shoots which seems to be linked to photorespiration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Botanik, Technische Hochschule Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstrasse 3–5, D-6100, Darmstadt, FRG

    KARL FISCHER & ULRICH LÜTTGE

Authors
  1. KARL FISCHER
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  2. ULRICH LÜTTGE
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FISCHER, K., LÜTTGE, U. Light-dependent net production of carbon monoxide by plants. Nature 275, 740–741 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/275740a0

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