Respiratory Pathway (respiratory + pathway)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Respiration of nitrous oxide in suboxic soil

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE, Issue 3 2009
B. Vieten
Summary Reduction of nitrous oxide (N2O) is an autonomous respiratory pathway. Nitrous oxide is an alternative electron acceptor to O2 when intensive biological activity and reduced diffusivity result in an O2 deficit. Hypoxic or anoxic micro sites may form even in well-aerated soils, and provide a sink for N2O diffusing through the gas-filled pore space. We reproduced similar in vitro conditions in suboxic (0.15% O2) flow-through incubation experiments with samples from a Stagnosol and from a Histosol. Apparent half-saturation constants (km) for N2O reduction were similar for both soils and were, on average, 3.8 ,mol mol,1 at 5°C, 5.1 ,mol mol,1 at 10°C, and 6.9 ,mol mol,1 at 20°C. Respiration of N2O was estimated to contribute a maximum proportion of 1.7% to total respiration in the Stagnosol (pH 7.0) and 0.9% in the Histosol (pH 2.9). [source]


The expression, function and regulation of mitochondrial alternative oxidase under biotic stresses

MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY, Issue 3 2010
FENG HANQING
SUMMARY To survive, plants possess elaborate defence mechanisms to protect themselves against virus or pathogen invasion. Recent studies have suggested that plant mitochondria may play an important role in host defence responses to biotic stresses. In contrast with animal mitochondria, plant mitochondria possess a unique respiratory pathway, the cyanide-insensitive alternative pathway, which is catalysed by the alternative oxidase (AOX). Much work has revealed that the genes encoding AOX, AOX protein and the alternative respiratory pathway are frequently induced during plant,pathogen (or virus) interaction. This raises the possibility that AOX is involved in host defence responses to biotic stresses. Thus, a key to the understanding of the role of mitochondrial respiration under biotic stresses is to learn the function and regulation of AOX. In this article, we focus on the theoretical and experimental progress made in the current understanding of the function and regulation of AOX under biotic stresses. We also address some speculative aspects to aid further research in this area. [source]


Mitochondrial respiratory pathways modulate nitrate sensing and nitrogen-dependent regulation of plant architecture in Nicotiana sylvestris

THE PLANT JOURNAL, Issue 6 2008
Till K. Pellny
Summary Mitochondrial electron transport pathways exert effects on carbon,nitrogen (C/N) relationships. To examine whether mitochondria,N interactions also influence plant growth and development, we explored the responses of roots and shoots to external N supply in wild-type (WT) Nicotiana sylvestris and the cytoplasmic male sterile II (CMSII) mutant, which has a N-rich phenotype. Root architecture in N. sylvestris seedlings showed classic responses to nitrate and sucrose availability. In contrast, CMSII showed an altered ,nitrate-sensing' phenotype with decreased sensitivity to C and N metabolites. The WT growth phenotype was restored in CMSII seedling roots by high nitrate plus sugars and in shoots by gibberellic acid (GA). Genome-wide cDNA-amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis of leaves from mature plants revealed that only a small subset of transcripts was altered in CMSII. Tissue abscisic acid content was similar in CMSII and WT roots and shoots, and growth responses to zeatin were comparable. However, the abundance of key transcripts associated with GA synthesis was modified both by the availability of N and by the CMSII mutation. The CMSII mutant maintained a much higher shoot/root ratio at low N than WT, whereas no difference was observed at high N. Shoot/root ratios were strikingly correlated with root amines/nitrate ratios, values of <1 being characteristic of high N status. We propose a model in which the amine/nitrate ratio interacts with GA signalling and respiratory pathways to regulate the partitioning of biomass between shoots and roots. [source]