Photoreduction of α-Ketoglutarate to Glutamate by Vicia faba Chloroplasts

Intact chloroplasts isolated from leaves of Vicia faba L. var. the Sutton show a decline in the endogenous level of alpha-ketoglutarate upon illumination. alpha-Ketoglutarate supplied to the chloroplasts is similarly utilized in this light-dependent reaction, and its consumption is paralleled by a concomitant increase in the level of glutamate. There is no photostimulation of glutamate synthesis in chloroplasts broken by osmotic shock, but it can be somewhat restored by addition of ferredoxin and NADP. These results suggest that in the isolated chloroplast the synthesis of glutamate from alpha-ketoglutarate is regulated by the availability of reduced pyridine nucleotide generated by photosynthetic electron transport. This conclusion is supported by the finding of an apparent competition between the photoreduction of phosphoglycerate to triose phosphate and the photoutilization of alpha-ketoglutarate.