Activities of carboxylating enzymes in the CAM species Opuntia ficus-indica grown under current and elevated CO2 concentrations

Abstract

Responses of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPCase) to an elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration were determined along with net CO2 uptake rates for the Crassulacean acid metabolism species Opuntia ficus-indica growing in open-top chambers. During the spring 13 months after planting, total daily net CO2 uptake of basal and first-order daughter cladodes was 28% higher at 720 than at 360 μl CO2 l(-1). The enhancement, caused mainly by higher CO2 assimilation during the early part of the night, was also observed during late summer (5 months after planting) and the following winter. The activities of Rubisco and PEPCase measured in vitro were both lower at the elevated CO2 concentration, particularly under the more favorable growth conditions in the spring and late summer. Enzyme activity in second-order daughter cladodes increased with cladode age, becoming maximal at 6 to 10 days. The effect ofelevated CO2 on Rubisco and PEPCase activity declined with decreasing irradiance, especially for Rubisco. Throughout the 13-month observation period, O. ficus-indica thus showed increased CO2 uptake when the atmospheric CO2 concentration was doubled despite lower activities of both carboxylating enzymes.