Intracellular Localization of the Neurotoxin 2,4-Diaminobutyric Acid in Lathyrus sylvestris L. Leaf Tissue.
The intracellular distribution of the neurotoxin 2,4-diaminobutyric acid (DABA) in mature leaves of the perennial legume Lathyrus sylvestris L. var ;Lathco' (flatpea) was determined using subcellular fractions from mesophyll protoplasts. Chloroplasts contained about 15% of the cellular DABA. At least 75% of the DABA was vacuolar, based on the assumptions that each protoplast contained a single vacuole and that acid phosphatase occurred exclusively in the vacuole. DABA was not detectable in peroxisomal and mitochondrial fractions. Because the vacuole is not a major site of amino acid synthesis, this distribution implicates synthesis of DABA within chloroplasts with subsequent transport to and storage within the vacuoles of the mesophyll cells.
Foster
J G
JG
United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Appalachian Soil and Water Conservation Research Laboratory, P. O. Box 867, Airport Road, Beckley, West Virginia 25802-0867.
Cress
W D
WD
Wright
S F
SF
Hess
J L
JL