The Relationship between Pyrophosphatase and Branching Enzyme Activity with Amyloplast Size in Maize Endosperm

Eli Zamski*, Kang Chien Liu, Jack C. Shannon

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This study aimed to clarify the relationship between amyloplast size (age) and activities of alkaline pyrophosphatase (PPase) and branching enzyme (BE) within developing Zea mays L. endosperm cells. PPase and BE activities per starch granule were increased when the organelle grew in size, although decreased when calculated per granule surface area. The amyloplast specific PPase and the stromal marker enzyme BE had identical distribution (percent of total activity) in the stroma. The amount of free Pi increased in the stroma with the increased granule size up to 8 μ in diameter (about one third of the final size) and then remained steady. The maximum Pi content at this granule size was 5.2 mmol per 106 amyloplasts (about 5.5 fmol per granule) and PPase activity released about 1 nmol min-1 per 106 amyloplasts. Attempts to detect endogenous PPi in amyloplasts were unsuccessful.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)41-46
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Plant Physiology
Volume146
Issue number1-2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1995

Keywords

  • ADH
  • alcohol dehydrogenase
  • Amyloplasts
  • BE
  • branching enzyme
  • branching enzyme
  • DAP
  • days after pollination
  • fresh weight
  • FW
  • maize
  • PPase
  • pyrophosphatase
  • pyrophosphatase
  • starch
  • sup
  • supernatant

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