The effect of salinity on the malic dehydrogenase of pea roots.

Effect of salinity on malate dehydrogenase activity was studied.Pea root tips contain 2 different malate dehydrogenases. One is located in the particulate, mitochondrial fraction, the other in the soluble, cytoplasmic fraction. Both can act when coupled with either NAD or NADP.Growing plants in Na(2)SO(4) salinated medium did not affect the pattern of the malate dehydrogenases in the root tips. Growing plants in NaCl salinated media resulted in the appearance of a new, third isoenzyme. This new isoenzyme was located in the cytoplasmic fraction.Salinity of both types, when present in growth medium, induced increases in the NADP coupled activity of the mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase. The NAD coupled activity, however, was depressed except in the cytoplasmic fraction of plants grown in media salinated with NaCl to 1 atmosphere. Addition of either of the salts to assay media of enzymes, isolated from plants grown in non salinated substrate, did not have any significant effect.