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Uptake of Bicarbonate Ion in Darkness by Isolated Chloroplast Envelope Membranes and Intact Chloroplasts of Spinach

^a Department of Biochemistry, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, Connecticut 06504

Bicarbonate uptake by isolated chloroplast envelope membranes and intact chloroplasts of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L. var. Viroflay) in darkness exhibited a similar dependency upon temperature, pH, time, and concentrations of isolated or attached envelope membranes. This similarity in uptake properties demonstrates the usefulness of the envelope membranes for the study of chloroplast permeability. Maximal rates for dark HCO₃^- uptake by isolated envelope membranes and intact chloroplasts were more than sufficient to account for the maximal rates of photosynthetic CO₂ fixation observed with intact chloroplasts. The active species involved in the uptake process was found to be HCO₃^- and not CO₂. The significance of HCO₃^- uptake and its relationship to carbonic anhydrase and ribulose diphosphate carboxylase is discussed. Conditions for maximal HCO₃^- uptake in darkness by intact chloroplasts were found to be similar to those required for maximal photosynthetic CO₂ fixation, suggesting that HCO₃^- uptake by the envelope membrane may regulate photosynthetic CO₂ fixation.