Membrane potential, adenylate levels and Mg2+ are interconnected via adenylate kinase equilibrium in plant cells.

Concentrations of adenylate species and free magnesium (Mg(2+)) within cells are mediated by the equilibrium governed by adenylate kinase (AK), the enzyme abundant in plants in chloroplast stroma and intermembrane spaces of chloroplasts and mitochondria. Ratios of free and Mg-bound adenylates (linked to the values of [Mg(2+)] established under AK equilibrium) can be rationalized in terms of the overall dependence of concentrations of Mg(2+) and free and Mg-bound adenylates, as well as electric potential values across the inner membranes of mitochondria and chloroplasts. The potential across the inner mitochondrial membrane, by driving adenylate translocators, equilibrates free adenylates across the inner membrane according to the Nernst equation and contributes to the ATP(total)/ADP(total) ratio in the cytosol. The ratio affects the exchange of free adenylates with chloroplasts and this, in turn, influences the value of potential across the inner chloroplast membrane. From measurements of subcellular ATP(total)/ADP(total) ratios, we suggest a method of estimating the values of potential across inner membranes of mitochondria and chloroplasts in vivo, which allows a comparison of the operation of these organelles under different physiological conditions. We discuss also how the equilibration of adenylates by AK drives adenylate transport across membranes, and establishes [Mg(2+)] in the cytosol and chloroplast stroma, maintaining the rates of photosynthesis and respiration. This provides a tool for metabolomic research, by which the determined concentrations of adenylate species could be used for computation of essential metabolic parameters in the cell and in subcellular compartments.