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Functional Plant Biology Functional Plant Biology Society
Plant function and evolutionary biology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Control of Photosynthesis in Amaranthus edulis Mutants with Reduced Amounts of PEP Carboxylase

Louisa V. Dever, Karen J. Bailey, Richard C. Leegood and Peter J. Lea

Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 24(4) 469 - 476
Published: 1997

Abstract

Mutants of the NAD-ME plant have been created using sodium azide. These contain reduced activities of PEP carboxylase ranging from 5 to 100% of wild-type. Those with greater than 50% of the wild-type PEPC content showed a lower maximum rate of photosynthesis and reduced carboxylation efficiency compared to the wild-type plants. The PEPC from these heterozygotes was less sensitive to malate inhibition than the PEPC of the wild-type plants and also had an increased phosphorylation state.

Mutants containing 45 and 49% of wild-type PEPC exhibited a greater Amax than was observed for the 55, 66 and 70% mutants. We postulate that there is a compensatory mechanism that activates PEPC when the PEPC protein is less than 55% of the wild-type.

Control coefficients were measured for PEP carboxylase from wild-type and heterozygous (55%) plants. Results suggest that activation of PEPC by phosphorylation and metabolites may be more an ‘on-off’ switch than a means of fine adjustment of PEPC activity in response to varying factors such as PEPC content, CO2 or temperature changes.

https://doi.org/10.1071/PP97008

© CSIRO 1997

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