Nitrate reductase is not accumulated in chloroplast-ribosome-deficient mutants of higher plants

Abstract

The activities of nitrite reductase (EC 1.7.7.1) are 60–70% of wild-type activity in pigment-deficient leaves of the chloroplast-ribosomedeficient mutants ‘albostrians’ (Hordeum vulgare) and ‘iojap’ (Zea mays). The activity and apoprotein of nitrate reductase (EC 1.6.6.1.) are lacking in the barley mutant. Only very low activities of nitrate reductase can be extracted from leaves of the maize mutant. The molybdenum cofactor of nitrate reductase and xanthine dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.3.2) is present in maize and barley mutant plants. However, it is not inducible by nitrate in pigment-deficient leaves of ‘albostrians’. From these results we conclude: (i) Nitrite reductase (a chloroplast enzyme) is synthesized in the cytoplasm and does not need the presence of nitrate reductase for the induction and maintenance if its activity. (ii) The loss or low activity of nitrate reductase is a consequence of the inability of the mutants to accumulate the apoprotein of this enzyme. (iii) The chloroplasts influence the accumulation (i.e. most probably the synthesis) of the nonchloroplast enzyme, nitrate reductase. The accumulation of nitrate reductase needs a chloroplast factor which is not provided by mutant plastids blocked at an early stage of their development.