Light Modulation of Enzyme Activity in Chloroplasts

Inhibitor experiments indicate that photosynthetic electron transport is required for light activation of the pea (Pisum sativum) leaf chloroplast enzymes NADP-linked glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, NADP-linked malic dehydrogenase, ribulose-5-phosphate kinase and sedoheptulose-1,7-diphosphate phosphatase, and for inactivation of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. Modulation of the activity of the dehydrogenases and kinase apparently involves a component preceding ferredoxin in the photosynthetic electron transport chain; activation of the phosphatase involves an electron transport component at the level of ferredoxin. Modulation of enzyme activity can be obtained in a broken chloroplast system consisting of membrane fragments and stromal extract. The capacity for light regulation in this system is reduced or eliminated when the membrane fraction is exposed to arsenite in the light or to sulfite in light or dark. Light-generated vicinal-dithiols seem therefore to be involved in modulation of the activity of the enzymes included in this study.