Protein synthesis in mitochondria purified from roots, leaves and flowers of sugar beet

Highly purified, intact and functional mitochondria were isolated from roots and leaves of a number of fertile and male‐sterile lines of sugar beet ( Beta vulgaris L.). Intact and functional mitochondria were successfully isolated from the flowers of fertile plants, but not from the flowers of male‐sterile plants. Several alternative methods for the homogenization of male‐sterile flowers were tried. Their failure suggests that the mitochondria from male‐sterile flowers are more sensitive to mechanical damage than mitochondria from fertile, or other organs of male‐sterile, plants. In organello protein synthesis was optimized with respect to the total concentration of amino acids, the concentration of [ 35 S]‐methionine, pH and respiratory substrate. Inhibitor experiments showed that the mitochondrial preparations contained mitochondrial translational activity only. With the exception of one band, no processing or proteolytic breakdown in either root or leaf mitochondrial protein synthesis products could be detected in pulse‐chase experiments. Submitochondrial fractionation experiments showed the presence of two soluble polypeptides, whereas all other polypeptides were membrane bound. The polypeptide patterns of root, leaf and flower mitochondria were very similar with the exception of 4 polypeptides involved in glycine oxidation. These 4 polypeptides were present in large amounts in leaf mitochondria and just detectable in flower mitochondria. The patterns of polypeptides syntesized in mitochondria isolated from roots, leaves and flowers also showed a number of organ‐specific differences. Six qualitative and 6 quantitative differences were found between mitochondria isolated from these three organs. No unique polypeptides were found to be synthesized either by flower mitochondria or by mitochondria from roots and leaves of male‐sterile plants compared to their male‐fertile counterparts.