Ammonium ions stimulate in vitro the activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase from leaves of Amaranthus hypochondriacus, a C4 plant: evidence for allosteric activation.

Ammonium ions stimulated in vitro the activity of PEP carboxylase (PEPC) extracted from dark-adapted leaves of Amaranthus hypochondriacus. Maximum stimulation of 80 to 85% occurred at 50 microM ammonium chloride. There was a marginal inhibition of PEPC at 5 mM ammonium chloride. Among several ions tested, potassium ions stimulated PEPC to a limited extent of about 30%. In presence of ammonium, there was no change either in the sensitivity of enzyme to malate or in the affinity for substrate, PEP. On the other hand, glucose-6-phosphate, an allosteric activator, which stimulated the enzyme by two-fold, could enhance PEPC activity by < 20% in the presence of ammonium. The light-activated form of PEPC from leaves of Amaranthus hypochondriacus was not stimulated, but was inhibited in the presence of ammonium. Our results demonstrate that ammonium ions stimulate PEPC by acting at the allosteric site. Ammonium ion being a component of plant metabolism could be an important regulator of PEPC, particularly in C4 plants.