Plant Respiration

Lee J Sweetlove, University of Oxford, UK
Alisdair R Fernie, Max‐Planck‐Institute of Plant Physiology, Potsdam‐Golm, Germany

Published online: December 2008

DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0001301.pub2

Respiration is a crucial feature of the metabolism of higher plant cells. Because plants synthesize all their organic molecules from inorganic materials and are sedentary, there are several unique features that distinguish plant respiration from animal respiration. In particular, the respiratory pathways not only oxidize carbohydrate to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), but they also provide carbon skeletons that act as precursors for the synthesis of organic molecules such as fatty acids and amino acids. In this article the impact of this dual role for the organization and regulation of the respiratory pathways will be described. Unique features of plant respiration will be detailed and a number of recent discoveries about the organization and regulation of plant respiration will be discussed.

Keywords: glycolysis; TCA cycle; oxidative phosphorylation; mitochondria

Figure 1. The pathway of glycolysis in plants. G6P, glucose 6-phosphate; G1P, glucose 1-phosphate; F6P, fructose 6-phosphate; F(1,6)BP, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate; DHAP, dihydroxyacetone phosphate; Gald3P, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate; 1,3biPGA, 1,3-biphosphoglycerate; 3PGA, 3-phosphoglycerate acid; 2PGA, 2-phosphoglycerate acid; PEP, phosphoenolpyruvate; OAA, oxaloacetate; PPi, inorganic pyrophosphate and Pi, inorganic phosphate.
Figure 2. The pathway of the TCA cycle in plants. For clarity cofactors have been omitted – the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex reactions both require CoA; the citrate synthase and succinyl–CoA ligase reactions produce CoA; NAD+ is converted to NADH by the NAD malic enzyme, pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, isocitrate dehydrogenase, 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex and malate dehydrogenase reactions; NADP+ is converted to NADPH by a specific isoform of isocitrate dehydrogenase; ADP is converted to ATP by the succinyl–CoA ligase reaction. PEP, phosphoenolpyruvate; OAA, oxaloacetate and Asp, aspartate.
Figure 3. (a) The electron transport chain of plant mitochondria. NDex, externally facing NAD(P)H dehydrogenases; NDin, internally facing rotenone-insensitive NAD(P)H dehydrogenases; UQ, ubiquinone; cyt c, cytochrome c. (b) Enzymes (in green) which interact with the electron transport chain. ETF/ETF-QO, electron-transfer flavoprotein/electron-transfer flavoprotein:ubiquinone oxidoreductase; proline deH, proline dehydrogenase; lactate deH, lactate dehydrogenase; FAD-GPDH, flavin adenine dinucleotide-dependent glycerol 3P dehydrogenase:ubiquinone oxidoreductase; GalL deH, l-galactono 1,4-lactone dehydrogenase; DHAP, dihydroxyacetone phosphate. Based on Figure 1 in Rasmusson et al. (2008) The multiplicity of dehydrogenases in the electron transport chain of plant mitochondria. Mitochondrion 8(1): 47–60. Epub 2007 Oct 17.
close
 Further Reading
    Fernie AR, Carrari F and Sweetlove LJ (2004) Respiratory metabolism: glycolysis, the TCA cycle and mitochondrial electron transport chain. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 7: 254–261.
    book Millar AH, Day DA and Whelan J (2004) "Mitochondrial biogenesis and function in Arabidopsis". In: Somerville CR and Meyerowitz EM (eds) The Arabidopsis Book. Rockville, MD: American Society Plant Biologists.
    Plaxton WC and Podesta FE (2006) The functional organisation and control of plant respiration. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences 25: 159–198.
    Rasmusson AG, Geisler DA and Moller IM (2007) The multiplicity of dehydrogenases in the electron transport chain of plant mitochondria. Mitochondrion 8: 47–60.
    book Siedow JN and Day DA (2000) "Respiration and photorespiration". In: Buchanan BB, Gruissem W and Jones RL (eds) Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Plants, pp 676–728. Somerset, NJ: Wiley.
    Sweetlove LJ, Fait A, Nunes-Nesi A, Williams T and Fernie AR (2008) The mitochondrion: An integration point of cellular metabolism and signalling. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences 26: 17–43.

Related Sub-Topics:

Cell Energetics | Growth and Synthesis | General Plant Science
Contact Editor close
Submit a note to the editor about this article by filling in the form below.

* Required Field

Article Title: Plant Respiration
 
How to Cite close
Sweetlove, Lee J, and Fernie, Alisdair R(Dec 2008) Plant Respiration. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0001301.pub2]