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Plant Physiol. (1998) 116: 1333-1337
Participation of Mitochondrial Metabolism in
Photorespiration1
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ABSTRACT |
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In
this study the interplay of mitochondria and peroxisomes in
photorespiration was simulated in a reconstituted system of isolated
mitochondria and peroxisomes from spinach (Spinacia
oleracea L.) leaves. The mitochondria oxidizing glycine
produced serine, which was reduced in the peroxisomes to glycerate. The
required reducing equivalents were provided by the mitochondria via the malate-oxaloacetate (OAA) shuttle, in which OAA was reduced in the
mitochondrial matrix by NADH generated during glycine oxidation. The
rate of peroxisomal glycerate formation, as compared with peroxisomal
protein, resembled the corresponding rate required during leaf
photosynthesis under ambient conditions. When the reconstituted system
produced glycerate at this rate, the malate-to-OAA ratio was in
equilibrium with a ratio of NADH/NAD of 8.8 × 10
3.
This low ratio is in the same range as the ratio of NADH/NAD in the
cytosol of mesophyll cells of intact illuminated spinach leaves, as we
had estimated earlier. This result demonstrates that in the
photorespiratory cycle a transfer of redox equivalents from the
mitochondria to peroxisomes, as postulated from separate experiments
with isolated mitochondria and peroxisomes, can indeed operate under
conditions of the very low reductive state of the NADH/NAD system
prevailing in the cytosol of mesophyll cells in a leaf during
photosynthesis.
Leaf peroxisomes, a specialized form of cell organelles, play a
vital role in photosynthesis and photorespiration (Tolbert, 1980 The conversion of Ser to glycerate in peroxisomes requires reducing
equivalents in the form of NADH for the reduction of hydroxypyruvate. Studies of isolated spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.)
peroxisomes indicated that the import of reduced equivalents occurred
exclusively through the malate-OAA shuttle from the cytosol but not
directly by NADH (Reumann et al., 1994 Leaf mitochondria are able to export reducing equivalents via the
malate-OAA shuttle at high rates (Douce and Bonner, 1972 Spinach (Spinacia oleracea, U.S. hybrid 424, Ferry-Morse Seed Company, Mountain View, CA) was grown in growth
chambers at 19°C for 9 h in light in hydroponic culture. The
illumination was about 350 µmol quanta m Isolation of Peroxisomes and Mitochondria
![]()
INTRODUCTION
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References
). They
are involved in the formation of glycerate from the glycolate derived
from the oxygenase activity of Rubisco. Since the ratio of oxygenation
to carboxylation during photosynthesis in a leaf will be 0.2 to 0.5 (Sharkey, 1988
), the metabolic flux of glycolate through the leaf
peroxisomes is very high (Heupel et al., 1991
; Reumann et al.,
1994
). In mitochondria and chloroplasts the compartmentation of
metabolism is due to the function of boundary membranes in which the
inner membrane contains specific translocators for a controlled passage
of metabolites. This is different in leaf peroxisomes, where the
latency of enzymes and the compartmentation of the conversion of
glycolate to Gly and of Ser to glycerate were found to be unaffected by
osmotic shock. In peroxisomes the compartmentation of metabolites is
apparently not due to the boundary function of the peroxisomal membrane
but is the result of the arrangement of the peroxisomal matrix proteins
as multienzyme complexes, allowing metabolite channeling (Heupel and
Heldt, 1994
). Instead of specific translocators, the leaf peroxisomal
membrane contains a porin, allowing the passage of a large variety of
negatively charged intermediates of photorespiratory metabolism. This
differs from the porins of the outer membranes of leaf mitochondria and chloroplasts (Flügge and Benz, 1984
; Schmid et al., 1992
) in containing a binding site with a high affinity to dicarboxylic acids
(Reumann et al., 1995
, 1996
, 1998
) and thus resembles some prokaryote-specific porins.
). This can be explained in terms of a diffusion resistance of the highly aggregated matrix proteins. The
diffusion flux of a molecule is proportional to its concentration difference and inversely proportional to the square of the
Mr. Because the concentration of malate in the
cytosol of the mesophyll cells in intact leaves is more than 1000 times
higher than that of NADH (1 mm malate versus 0.7 µm NADH, Heineke et al., 1991
), and the square of the
Mr of malate is 25 times lower than that of
NADH, the diffusion of malate across the peroxisomal matrix is expected
to occur about 30,000 times faster than the diffusion of NADH.
Moreover, the permeability properties of the leaf peroxisomal porin
will favor the passage of malate and OAA over NADH and NAD (Reumann et
al., 1996
).
; Day and
Wiskich, 1984
; Ebbighausen et al., 1985
). Alternatively, chloroplasts
are able to export reducing equivalents generated by photosynthesis by
the malate-OAA shuttle (Hatch et al., 1984
). Therefore, both
mitochondria and chloroplasts are able to meet the requirement of NADH
for hydroxypyruvate reduction in peroxisomes. It has been estimated
from experiments with isolated spinach leaf mitochondria that 25 to
50% of the NADH needed for hydroxypyruvate reduction in peroxisomes
might be provided by mitochondria (Krömer and Heldt, 1991
;
Hanning and Heldt, 1993
) and the rest by the chloroplasts. In mesophyll
cells of intact, illuminated leaves, the reductive state of NADH/NAD
has been found to be on the order of 10
3
(Heineke et al., 1991
). The question remained whether a redox transfer
from the mitochondria to the peroxisomes, as postulated from
experiments performed with isolated mitochondria or peroxisomes, can
operate at physiological rates under such conditions. To answer this
question we used a reconstituted system of mitochondria and peroxisomes, in which the mitochondria oxidized Gly to provide the
peroxisomes with Ser and reducing equivalents via the malate-OAA shuttle. Our results demonstrate that mitochondria are capable of
supplying malate for sustaining high rates of peroxisomal glycerate production. The assay of metabolite levels in the steady state revealed
that the redox supply from the mitochondria to the peroxisomes via the
malate-OAA shuttle can occur at a very low redox state known to occur
in the cytosol of mesophyll cells in intact illuminated leaves
performing photosynthesis under ambient conditions.
![]()
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References
2
s
1 with tungsten and mercury lamps (Heupel et
al., 1991
). Deribbed mature leaves of 2-month-old plants were used for
isolating peroxisomes or mitochondria. For partial purification of
glycerate kinase according to the method of Schmitt and Edwards (1983)
,
12- to 16-d-old-plants of pea (Pisum sativum, var Kleine
Rheinländerin) grown with supplementary tungsten lighting were
used.
). The intactness of peroxisomes, as judged by the latency of HPR (Heupel et al., 1991
),
ranged from 87 to 95%. Mitochondria were isolated and purified using a
medium containing Percoll, as described earlier (Krömer and
Heldt, 1991
). The intactness of mitochondria, as judged by the latency
of Cyt c oxidase (Neuberger et al., 1982
; Krömer and
Heldt, 1991
), ranged from 95 to 98%. The average specific activities
of these preparations were 15 U of HPR mg
1
peroxisomal protein and 600 nanoatom [O]
mg
1 mitochondrial protein
min
1 (Gly oxidation).
Glycerate Formation
Peroxisomes (and/or mitochondria) were incubated at 20°C in a reaction medium containing 50 mm KH2PO4 (pH 7.5), 0.25 m mannitol, 2 mm glycolate, 1 mm malate, 1 mm NAD, 0.5 mm OAA, 10 mm Gly, 0.05 mm CoA, 0.1 mm thiamine PPi, and 1 mm ADP. The following compounds were included, when mentioned: 15 mm Ser, 0.25 mm Glu, and 10 U mL
1 GOT. The reaction was initiated by
peroxisomes equivalent to 10 to 12 µg of peroxisomal protein
mL
1 and mitochondria equivalent to 125 to 150 µg of mitochondrial protein mL
1, when
present. At appropriate intervals, the reaction was terminated by the
transfer of a 500-µL aliquot to a tube containing 100 µL of 10%
(v/v) perchloric acid and 50 mm EDTA. Further details of neutralization of the acidified reaction mixture were as described earlier (Heupel et al., 1991Reconstitution of Peroxisomes and Mitochondria
The specific activity of each organelle preparation, simultaneously made from the same set of spinach plants, was determined using a typical marker: HPR for peroxisomes (Heupel et al., 1991
1
mL
1) were added for each unit of peroxisomes
catalyzing the reduction of 1 µmol hydroxypyruvate
min
1 mL
1.
). However,
the mitochondrial preparation was slightly contaminated with
peroxisomes. Therefore, the experiments were also run with the sets of
mitochondria alone. The rates of glycerate formation by the mixture of
peroxisomes plus mitochondria were corrected by subtracting the
background rates of glycerate production by the mitochondrial
preparation.
Determination of Glycerate and Other Metabolites
Glycerate was assayed by an enzymatic coupled assay using partially purified glycerate kinase from osmotically shocked pea chloroplasts (Heupel et al., 1991| |
RESULTS |
|---|
|
|
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Isolated, intact leaf peroxisomes are able to produce glycerate
when glycolate, Ser, malate, and NAD are provided externally (Heupel et
al., 1991
; Reumann et al., 1994
). To study the interplay of
mitochondria and peroxisomes in photorespiration, we combined isolated
mitochondria and peroxisomes from spinach leaves to a reconstituted
system that is able to form glycerate from glycolate (Fig.
1). The optimal ratio of peroxisomes
to mitochondria, as indicated in "Materials and Methods," was
determined from the stimulatory effect of mitochondria on peroxisomal
glycerate synthesis (data not shown).
|
In the reconstituted system of isolated peroxisomes and
mitochondria, the rate of glycerate formation was consistently high and
sustainable, even when Ser was not added (Fig. 2). The addition of Ser
only slightly enhanced glycerate formation (Fig. 3). The rate of
glycerate formation with peroxisomes alone was quite low (Figs. 2 and
3; Table I), indicating that mitochondrial metabolism was required to
achieve high rates of glycerate production. The data in Table I
demonstrate the dynamic status of metabolites and the effective
movement between the medium and these two organelles. A model of the
flow of metabolites between the peroxisomes and mitochondria in our
experimental system is shown in Figure 1.
Received October 1, 1997;
accepted December 22, 1997.
Abbreviations:
GOT, glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase.
HPR, hydroxypyruvate reductase.
OAA, oxaloacetate.
U, µmol
min We wish to acknowledge the kind help of Dr. Dieter Heineke, Dr.
Ralf Heupel, Dr. Iris Hanning, Ms. Helma Lindemann (for help with
preparation of peroxisomes/mitochondria, amino acid analyses, and for
stimulating discussions), and Ms. Monica Raabe (for excellent technical
assistance).
Bergmeyer HU (1983) Methods of Enzymatic Analysis, Ed 3. Verlag Chemie, Weinheim, Germany
Day DA,
Wiskich JT
(1984)
Transport processes in isolated plant mitochondria.
Physiol Veg
22:
241-261
Douce R,
Bonner WD
(1972)
Oxaloacetate control of Krebs cycle oxidation in purified plant mitochondria.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun
47:
619-624
[Medline]
Ebbighausen H,
Chen J,
Heldt HW
(1985)
Oxaloacetate translocator in plant mitochondria.
Biochim Biophys Acta
810:
184-199
Flügge U-I,
Benz R
(1984)
Pore forming activity in the outer membrane of the chloroplast envelope.
FEBS Lett
169:
85-89
[CrossRef]
Hanning I,
Heldt HW
(1993)
On the function of mitochondrial metabolism during photosynthesis in spinach leaves (Spinacia oleracea L.). Partitioning between respiration and export of redox equivalents and precursors for nitrate assimilation products.
Plant Physiol
103:
1147-1154
[Abstract]
Hatch MD,
Dröscher L,
Flügge UI,
Heldt HW
(1984)
A specific translocator for oxaloacetate transport in chloroplasts.
FEBS Lett
178:
15-19
[CrossRef]
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Riens B,
Grosse H,
Hoferichter P,
Peter U,
Flügge UI,
Heldt HW
(1991)
Redox transfer across the inner chloroplast envelope membrane.
Plant Physiol
95:
1131-1137
Heupel R,
Heldt HW
(1994)
Protein organization in the matrix of leaf peroxisomes. A multienzyme complex involved in photorespiratory metabolism.
Eur J Biochem
220:
165-172
[ISI][Medline]
Heupel R,
Markgraf T,
Robinson DG,
Heldt HW
(1991)
Compartmentation studies on spinach leaf peroxisomes. Evidence for channeling of photorespiratory metabolites in peroxisomes devoid of intact boundary membrane.
Plant Physiol
96:
971-979
Krömer S,
Heldt HW
(1991)
Respiration of pea leaf mitochondria and redox transfer between the mitochondrial and extramitochondrial compartment.
Biochim Biophys Acta
1057:
42-50
[CrossRef]
Lowry OH,
Rosebrough NJ,
Farr AL,
Randall RJ
(1951)
Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent.
J Biol Chem
193:
265-275
Neuberger M,
Journet E-P,
Bligny R,
Carde JP,
Douce R
(1982)
Purification of plant mitochondria by isopycnic centrifugation in density gradients of Percoll.
Arch Biochem Biophys
217:
312-323
[CrossRef][ISI][Medline]
Reumann S,
Heupel R,
Heldt HW
(1994)
Compartmentation studies on spinach leaf peroxisomes. II. Evidence for the transfer of reductant from the cytosol to peroxisomal compartment via malate-oxaloacetate shuttle.
Planta
193:
167-173
Reumann S,
Maier E,
Benz R,
Heldt HW
(1995)
The membrane of leaf peroxisomes contains a porin-like channel.
J Biol Chem
270:
17559-17565
Reumann S,
Maier E,
Benz R,
Heldt HW
(1996)
A specific porin is involved in the malate shuttle of leaf peroxisomes.
Biochem Soc Trans
24:
754-757
[ISI][Medline]
Reumann S, Maier E, Benz R, Heldt HW (1998) Permeability
properties of the porin of spinach leaf peroxisomes. Eur J Biochem
(in press)
Schmid A,
Krömer S,
Heldt HW,
Benz R
(1992)
Identification of two general diffusion channels in the outer membrane of pea mitochondria.
Biochem Biophys Acta
1112:
174-180
[Medline]
Schmitt MR,
Edwards GE
(1983)
Glycerate kinase from leaves of C3 plants.
Arch Biochem Biophys
224:
332-341
[Medline]
Sharkey DT
(1988)
Estimating the rate of photorespiration in leaves.
Physiol Plant
73:
147-152
Tolbert NE (1980) Microbodies
Veech RL,
Eggleston LV,
Krebs HA
(1969)
The redox state of the nicotinamide-adenine-dinucleotide phosphate in the cytoplasm of rat liver.
Biochem J
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609-619
[ISI][Medline]

View larger version (13K):
[in a new window]
Figure 2.
Time course of glycerate formation by isolated
peroxisomes alone (
) or by reconstituted system of peroxisomes plus
mitochondria (
) in the absence of externally added Ser. The rates of
glycerate formation by the latter system (peroxisomes plus
mitochondria) were corrected for the background rates by mitochondria
alone, as described in detail in the text. The medium contained 2 mm glycolate, 1 mm malate, 1 mm
NAD, 0.5 mm OAA, 10 mm Gly, and 1 mm ADP. prot, Protein.

View larger version (13K):
[in a new window]
Figure 3.
Time course of glycerate formation in the presence
of 15 mm Ser, by peroxisomes alone (
), or by a
reconstituted system of peroxisomes plus mitochondria (
). The rates
of glycerate formation by the latter system (peroxisomes plus
mitochondria) were corrected for the background rates by mitochondria
alone, as described in detail in the text. The medium contained 15 mm Ser in addition to the components described in the
legend of Figure 2. prot, Protein.
1 GOT) so as to maintain an equilibrium of
OAA with glutamate, aspartate, and 2-oxoglutarate. The concentrations
of OAA were calculated from the GOT equilibrium, (oxoglutarate × Asp)/(Glu × 6.61), as carried out by Heineke et al. (1991)
, based
on the equilibrium constant of K = 6.61 (Veech et al.,
1969
). Under these conditions, we obtained with peroxisomes alone, and
peroxisomes plus mitochondria, essentially the same time course of
glycerate synthesis as shown in Figure 3 (data not shown). The rate of
glycerate formation by peroxisomes alone was less than one-sixth of
that when mitochondria were also present.
View this table:
Table I.
Correlation between the rate of glycerate formation
by the reconstituted system of peroxisomes and mitochondria and the
concentration ratio of malate to OAA
The experimental conditions were the same as in Figure 2, the only
difference being that the medium also contained 0.25 mm glutamate and 10 U/mL GOT. The concentrations of aspartate, glutamate, 2-oxoglutarate, and malate were determined enzymatically. The concentration of OAA was evaluated from the concentrations of aspartate, 2-oxoglutarate, and glutamate according to the GOT equilibrium (see ``Materials and Methods'').
![]()
DISCUSSION
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References
where K = 2.78 × 10
12 (Veech et al., 1969
) and
H+ = 10
7.5, a
malate-to-OAA ratio of 100 corresponds to an NADH:NAD ratio of 8.8 × 10
3. In previous studies in which nonaqueous
subcellular fractionation was used, the NADH-to-NAD ratio in the
cytosol of illuminated spinach leaves was estimated to be on the order
of 10
3 (Heineke et al., 1991
). Taking into
account that some error is involved in these estimations of redox
potentials, the present results indicate that the reduction of
hydroxypyruvate in the peroxisomes can proceed at the very low
NADH-to-NAD ratio prevailing in the cytosol of mesophyll cells of
illuminated, intact leaves.
1 peroxisomal protein
h
1 (Table I). Assuming a ratio of 1.04 mg
peroxisomal protein mg
1 chlorophyll in spinach
leaf (Heupel et al., 1991
), the rate of glycerate formation in our
system can be calculated to be 26 µmol mg
1
chlorophyll h
1. The rate of glycerate formation
in a photosynthesizing leaf at ambient CO2 is
expected to be about 20 µmol mg
1 chlorophyll
h
1 (Heupel et al., 1991
; Reumann et al., 1994
).
Thus, the determined rate of glycerate formation is close to the
physiological demand.
1
This work was supported by the Deutsche
Forschungsgemeinschaft (H.W.H.) and a fellowship from the Alexander von
Humboldt-Stiftung to A.S.R.
![]()
FOOTNOTES
2
Present address: Department of Plant Sciences,
School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad 500 046, India.
3
Present address: Michigan State
University-Department of Energy Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan
State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1312.
*
Corresponding author; e-mail hheldt{at}gwdg.de; fax 49-551-395749.
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ABBREVIATIONS
1.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
![]()
LITERATURE CITED
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References
peroxisomes and glyoxysomes.
In NE Tolbert, ed, The Biochemistry of Plants, Vol 1. Academic Press, New York, pp 359-388
Copyright Clearance Center: 0032-0889/98/116/1333/05
© 1998 American Society of Plant Physiologists
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