Identification, Separation, and Characterization of
Acyl-Coenzyme A Dehydrogenases Involved in Mitochondrial
-Oxidation in Higher Plants1
Kornelia Bode,
Mark A. Hooks, and
Ivan Couée2, *
Station de Physiologie Végétale, Institut National de
la Recherche Agronomique, Centre de Recherches de Bordeaux,
Boîte Postale 81, 33883 Villenave d'Ornon cedex, France
The
existence in higher plants of an additional
-oxidation system in
mitochondria, besides the well-characterized peroxisomal system, is
often considered controversial. Unequivocal demonstration of
-oxidation activity in mitochondria should rely on identification of
the enzymes specific to mitochondrial
-oxidation. Acyl-coenzyme A
dehydrogenase (ACAD) (EC 1.3.99.2,3) activity was detected in purified
mitochondria from maize (Zea mays L.) root tips and from embryonic axes of early-germinating sunflower (Helianthus
annuus L.) seeds, using as the enzyme assay the reduction of
2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol, with phenazine methosulfate as the
intermediate electron carrier. Subcellular fractionation showed that
this ACAD activity was associated with mitochondrial fractions.
Comparison of ACAD activity in mitochondria and acyl-coenzyme A oxidase
activity in peroxisomes showed differences of substrate specificities.
Embryonic axes of sunflower seeds were used as starting material for
the purification of ACADs. Two distinct ACADs, with medium-chain and
long-chain substrate specificities, respectively, were separated by
their chromatographic behavior, which was similar to that of mammalian
ACADs. The characterization of these ACADs is discussed in relation to
the identification of expressed sequenced tags corresponding to ACADs
in cDNA sequence analysis projects and with the potential roles of
mitochondrial
-oxidation in higher plants.
1
This work was partly funded by the Aquitaine
(France) Regional Council.
2
Present address: Centre National de la Recherche
Scientifique UMR 6553, Université de Rennes I, Campus
Scientifique de Beaulieu, Bâtiment 14, 263 Avenue du
Général Leclerc, 35042 Rennes cedex, France.
*
Corresponding author; e-mail ivan.couee{at}univ-rennes1.fr; fax
33-299286915.
Plant Physiol. (1999) 119: 1305-1314
Copyright Clearance Center: 0032-0889/99/119//10
© 1999 American Society of Plant Physiologists