Viewpoint: Carbon isotope effect predictions for enzymes involved in the primary carbon metabolism of plant leaves

Carbon isotope effects of enzymes involved in primary carbon metabolism are key parameters in our understanding of plant metabolism. Nevertheless, some of them are poorly known because of the lack of in vitro experimental data on purified enzymes. Some studies have focused on theoretical predictions of isotope effects. Here we show how quantum chemical calculations can be adapted for calculation of isotope effects for the Rubisco-catalysed carboxylation and oxygenation reactions and the citrate synthase reaction. The intrinsic isotope effect of the carboxylation by Rubisco appears to be much smaller than previously thought, being close to the overall isotope effect of the reaction that is, between 25 and 30 per mil. The same applies to the enzyme citrate synthase, that catalyses the first step of the Krebs cycle, with an isotope effect of around 23 per mil. Combined with the isotope effects of equilibrium reactions calculated with β-factors, the Krebs cycle then has an overall isotope effect that depletes organic acids in 13C.