Binding of Butyl Gallate to Plant Mitochondria

[(14)C]butyl gallate was used in binding studies to investigate the cyanide-resistant respiratory pathway in mitochondria isolated from a variety of sources displaying varying levels of cyanide resistance. Highly cyanide-resistant mitochondria were isolated from aroid spadices, while moderately cyanide-resistant mitochondria were isolated from either mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) hypocotyls or carbon dioxide/oxygen/ethylene-treated tubers. Totally cyanide-sensitive mitochondria were isolated from untreated tubers and rat liver. With one exception, all the plant mitochondria showed a reversible butyl gallate binding site which saturated at a level of 1.0 to 2.0 nanomoles per milligram protein. The exception, freshly harvested white potato tubers (<1 month from harvest), showed little specific butyl gallate binding, and also showed no appreciable induction of the cyanide-resistant pathway following carbon dioxide/oxygen/ethylene treatment. Only a low level, linear binding, well below that seen with plant mitochondria, was observed with rat liver mitochondria. Taken together, these results suggest a model for the interaction of the alternative pathway with the cytochrome pathway. In this model, the butyl gallate binding site (alternative oxidase) is a constitutive component in those mitochondria that are capable of developing the alternative pathway, and the binding sites associated with a second, inducible component that functions to couple the oxidase to the cytochrome pathway.