BOTA 21013

Tutorial 1

BS/2012/157
Kasun Wekasinghe

1.)

a.) "Photorespiration is light-dependent". Explain this statement.

RuBP (Ribulose-1,5-bisphospate/ Rubisco) is an enzyme that is
responsible on the fixing of CO 2 in many plants. RuBP is a light
dependent enzyme which its activity is dependent/ activated by the
presence of light.
RuBP enzyme is activated by the presence of Core enzyme
RuBP Activase. RuBP Activase is the compound that controls the
dependence and Activity of RuBP enzyme. When light is Present RuBP
Activase core enzyme activate the Active site of the Apo enzyme
RuBP and the activated RuBP complexes with the corresponding gases.
A RuBP enzyme fixes both CO2 using Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate
Carboxylase and with O2 using Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate Oxyganase
. RuBP favours CO2 over O2 by a factor of up to100, but the concentration
of O2 in the atmosphere is much higher than that of CO 2. As a result,
about one molecule of O2 is fixed by Rubisco for every three molecules
of CO2. When O2 is substituted for CO2, the toxic product
phosphoglycolate results.
When light is present stomatala movement occurs and so the
stomata opens, CO2 and O2 gases intake increases. When there is higher
O2 concentration RuBP tend to with O2 than CO2 .
Higher the Light Intensity Higher the activation of RuBP by
RuBP Activase so higher the active RuBP enzyme and higher the
capturing of gases. As O2 complex is more likely to occur with RuBP CO 2
fixation is decreased. When CO2 fixation is decreased the
Photorespiration increases. So Photorespiration is Dependent of
temperature.
b.) Photorespiration is absent in C4 plants. Why?
In C4 plants the primary CO2 fixation is done by PEP Carboxylase
(Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase) enzyme instead of RuBP carboxylase
. PEP carboxylase enzyme is not bi-functional where PEP carboxylase
does not fix O2 as if in RuBP. So that PEP carboxylase cannot release
CO2 as a product of photorespiration. So that photorespiration is absent in
C4 plants.

References :
Andrews TJ and Kane HJ (1991) Pyruvate is a by-product of catalysis by
ribulosebisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase. Journal of Biological Chemistry 266:
94479452.
Bowes G, Ogren WL and Hageman RH (1971) Phosphoglycolate production
catalyzed by ribulose diphosphate carboxylase. Biochemical and Biophysical
Research Communications 45: 716722.
Sharkey, T.D. Photorespiration. 2000 word entry for the Encyclopedia of Life
Sciences, MacMillan (1998).

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1038/npg.els.0001292/abstract (19-04-2015)