Inhibition of the Plastidic Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex in Isolated Plastids of Oat
The activity of the plastidic pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (pPDHC) is one source of acetyl-CoA in plastids of higher plants needed for de novo fatty acid biosynthesis. This plastidic enzyme reaction is specifically inhibited by acetylmethylphosphinate (AMPI), a com pound which had hitherto been known only as an inhibitor of the mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (mPDHC). In the test system of isolated intact oat plastids (Avena sativa) [2-14C]pyruvate was used for de novo fatty acid biosynthesis. The incorporation of label from [2-14C]pyruvate in fatty acids was inhibited by AMPI in a dose-dependent manner. The inhibition rose with increasing preincubation time of plastids with the inhibitor. I50 values for the inhibition of de novo fatty acid biosynthesis from [2-14C]pyruvate by AMPI for isolated etioplasts and chloroplasts were 4.5 and 80 μm , respectively. The activity of the pPDHC decreased during greening of oat seedlings, as is seen from the decreasing incorporation of [2-14C]pyruvate into fatty acids during the light-induced transformation of etioplasts into chloroplasts. In contrast to the decreasing pPDHC activity, the activity of the plastidic acetyl-C oA synthetase (ACS), which transfers acetate to acetyl-CoA, rose parallel to the transformation of etioplasts into chloroplasts. During the assay time of 20 min we could not detect an incorporation of radiolabel from pyruvate or acetate into β-carotene or any other carotenoid