Regulation of Chloroplast Photosynthetic Activity by Exogenous Magnesium

摘要

Magnesium was most inhibitory to photosynthetic reactions by intact chloroplasts when the magnesium was added in the dark before illumination. Two millimolar MgCl2, added in the dark, inhibited CO2-dependent O2 evolution by Hordeum vulgare L. and Spinacia oleracea L. (C3 plants) chloroplasts 70 to 100% and inhibited (pyruvate + oxaloacetate)-dependent O2 evolution by Digitaria sanguinalis L. (C4 plant) mesophyll chloroplasts from 80 to 100%. When Mg²⁺ was added in the light, O2 evolution was reduced only slightly. O2 evolution in the presence of phosphoglycerate was less sensitive to Mg²⁺ inhibition than was CO2-dependent O2 evolution.Magnesium prevented the light activation of several photosynthetic enzymes. Two millimolar Mg²⁺ blocked the light activation of NADP-malate dehydrogenase in D. sanguinalis mesophyll chloroplasts, and the light activation of phosphoribulokinase, NADP-linked glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, and fructose 1,6-diphosphatase in barley chloroplasts. The results suggest that Mg²⁺ inhibits chloroplast photosynthesis by preventing the light activation of certain enzymes.