Photorespiratory Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling: Evidence from Studies of Mutant and Transgenic Plants. In: Foyer CH, Noctor G, editors. Photosynthetic Nitrogen Assimilation and Associated Carbon and Respiratory Metabolism. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands; 2002. pp. 115-34. [DOI: 10.1007/0-306-48138-3_8]

Effects of growth temperature and nitrogen nutrition on expression of C3-C4 intermediate traits in Chenopodium album

Proto-Kranz plants represent an initial phase in the evolution from C₃ to C₃-C₄ intermediate to C₄ plants. The ecological and adaptive aspects of C₃-C₄ plants would provide an important clue to understand the evolution of C₃-C₄ plants. We investigated whether growth temperature and nitrogen (N) nutrition influence the expression of C₃-C₄ traits in Chenopodium album (proto-Kranz) in comparison with Chenopodium quinoa (C₃). Plants were grown during 5 weeks at 20 or 30 °C under standard or low N supply levels (referred to as 20SN, 20LN, 30SN, and 30LN). Net photosynthetic rate and leaf N content were higher in 20SN and 30SN plants than in 20LN and 30LN plants of C. album but did not differ among growth conditions in C. quinoa. The CO₂ compensation point (Γ) of C. album was lowest in 30LN plants (36 µmol mol^-1), highest in 20SN plants (51 µmol mol^-1), and intermediate in 20LN and 30SN plants, whereas Γ of C. quinoa did not differ among the growth conditions (51-52 µmol mol^-1). The anatomical structure of leaves was not considerably affected by growth conditions in either species. However, ultrastructural observations in C. album showed that the number of mitochondria per mesophyll or bundle sheath (BS) cell was lower in 20LN and 30LN plants than in 20SN and 30SN plants. Immunohistochemical observations revealed that lower accumulation level of P-protein of glycine decarboxylase (GDC-P) in mesophyll mitochondria than in BS mitochondria is the major factor causing the decrease in Γ values in C. album plants grown under low N supply and high temperature. These results suggest that high growth temperature and low N supply lead to the expression of C₃-C₄ traits (the reduction of Γ) in the proto-Kranz plants of C. album through the regulation of GDC-P expression.

Ammonia emission from rice leaves in relation to photorespiration and genotypic differences in glutamine synthetase activity

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Rice (Oryza sativa) plants lose significant amounts of volatile NH(3) from their leaves, but it has not been shown that this is a consequence of photorespiration. Involvement of photorespiration in NH(3) emission and the role of glutamine synthetase (GS) on NH(3) recycling were investigated using two rice cultivars with different GS activities.

METHODS

NH(3) emission (AER), and gross photosynthesis (P(G)), transpiration (Tr) and stomatal conductance (g(S)) were measured on leaves of 'Akenohoshi', a cultivar with high GS activity, and 'Kasalath', a cultivar with low GS activity, under different light intensities (200, 500 and 1000 µmol m(-2) s(-1)), leaf temperatures (27·5, 32·5 and 37·5 °C) and atmospheric O(2) concentrations ([O(2)]: 2, 21 and 40 %, corresponding to 20, 210 and 400 mmol mol(-1)).

KEY RESULTS

An increase in [O(2)] increased AER in the two cultivars, accompanied by a decrease in P(G) due to enhanced photorespiration, but did not greatly influence Tr and g(S). There were significant positive correlations between AER and photorespiration in both cultivars. Increasing light intensity increased AER, P(G), Tr and g(S) in both cultivars, whereas increasing leaf temperature increased AER and Tr but slightly decreased P(G) and g(S). 'Kasalath' (low GS activity) showed higher AER than 'Akenohoshi' (high GS activity) at high light intensity, leaf temperature and [O(2)].

CONCLUSIONS

Our results demonstrate that photorespiration is strongly involved in NH(3) emission by rice leaves and suggest that differences in AER between cultivars result from their different GS activities, which would result in different capacities for reassimilation of photorespiratory NH(3). The results also suggest that NH(3) emission in rice leaves is not directly controlled by transpiration and stomatal conductance.

The re-assimilation of ammonia produced by photorespiration and the nitrogen economy of C3 higher plants

Photorespiration involves the conversion of glycine to serine with the release of ammonia and CO(2). In C(3) terrestrial higher plants the flux through glycine and serine is so large that it results in the production of ammonia at a rate far exceeding that from reduction of new nitrogen entering the plant. The photorespiratory nitrogen cycle re-assimilates this ammonia using the enzymes glutamine synthetase and glutamine:2-oxoglutarateaminotransferase.