Plant Physiol. email content delivery
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Plant Physiology 75:979-982 (1984)
© 1984 American Society of Plant Biologists

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Web of Science (13)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Wurtele, E. S.
Right arrow Articles by Conn, E. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Wurtele, E. S.
Right arrow Articles by Conn, E. E.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Wurtele, E. S.
Right arrow Articles by Conn, E. E.
Articles

Tissue Distribution of {beta}-Cyanoalanine Synthase in Leaves 1

Eve Syrkin Wurtele2, Basil J. Nikolau3 and Eric E. Conn

Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, Davis, California 95616

{beta}-Cyanoalanine synthase, which catalyzes the reaction between cysteine and HCN to form {beta}-cyanoalanine and H2S, was assayed in leaf tissues from cyanogenic (Sorghum bicolor x Sorghum sudanense [sorghum]) and noncyanogenic (Pisum sativum [pea], Zea mays [maize], and Allium porrum [leek]) plants. The activity in whole leaf extracts ranged from 33 nanomoles per gram fresh weight per minute in leeks, to 1940 nanomoles per gram fresh weight per minute in sorghum. The specific activities of {beta}-cyanoalanine synthase in epidermal protoplasts from maize and sorghum and in epidermal tissues from peas were in each case greater than the corresponding values for mesophyll protoplasts or tissues, or for strands of bundle sheath cells.

The tissue distributions for this enzyme were determined for pea, leek, and sorghum: the mesophyll protoplasts and tissues in these three plants contained 65% to 78% of the enzyme, while epidermal protoplasts and tissues contained 10% to 35% of the total leaf activity. In sorghum, the bundle sheath strands contained 13% of the leaf activity. The presence of {beta}-cyanoalanine synthase in all tissues and species studied suggests a fundamental role for this enzyme in plant metabolism.

2 Present address: NPI, 417 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108.

3 Present address: Department of Cellular, Viral and Molecular Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84132.

1 Supported in part by National Science Foundation Grants PCM-81-04497 and PCM-79-03976 and Public Health Service Grant GM-05301-25.






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
ASPB Publications PLANT PHYSIOLOGY® THE PLANT CELL
Copyright © 1984 by the American Society of Plant Biologists