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Reassessment of an Apparent Hyperactive Form of Phosphofructokinase from Plants ¹

Biology Department, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6

In the assay of phosphofructokinase (PFK) from endosperm of germinating castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) there is a transient stimulation of initial activity by fructose 2,6-bisphosphate. This activation is due to metabolism of a limited amount of pyrophosphate (a contaminant of commercial ATP) by PPi:fructose 6-phosphate phosphotransferase (PFP), which is present in the extract. Both this activity and the amount of pyrophosphate contamination are sufficient to account for the initial increase in apparent PFK activity. The transient burst of activity is dependent on both of the above factors. Based on studies of a similar hyperactive PFK, others have proposed that PFK and PFP may be interconverted (Balogh et al. 1984 FEBS Lett 169: 287-292). The evidence for such conversions is reinterpreted in the context of the current results.