Abstract
Modular kinetic analysis was used to determine the sites in plant mitochondria where charge-screening stimulates the rate of electron transfer from external NAD(P)H to oxygen. In mitochondria isolated from potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tuber callus, stimulation of the rate of oxygen uptake was accompanied by a decrease in the steady-state reduction level of coenzyme Q, and by a small decrease in the steady-state reduction level of cytochrome c. Modular kinetic analysis around coenzyme Q revealed that stimulation of the rate was due to stimulation of quinol oxidation via the cytochrome pathway (cytochrome bc1, cytochrome c and cytochrome c oxidase). It was not a consequence of any effect on quinone reduction (by external NADH or NADPH dehydrogenase). This explains the salt-induced decrease in the steady-state reduction level of coenzyme Q. Analysis around cytochrome c revealed that stimulation by salts was due to a dual effect on the respiratory chain. The kinetic curves for the oxidation and reduction pathways of cytochrome c revealed that they were both activated by salt, the simultaneity explaining the small variation observed in the steady-state reduction level of cytochrome c. A simple kinetic core model is used to show that changes in the rate of dissociation of cytochrome c from the membrane can explain the observed kinetic changes in both cytochrome c reduction and cytochrome c oxidation. The stimulation is proposed to be the result of an increase in the rate constant of cytochrome c dissociation from the membrane induced by cation screening. We conclude that this type of modular kinetic analysis is a powerful tool to identify and quantitatively characterize multiple-site effects on the mitochondrial respiratory chain.
Published Version
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