Some aspects of the regulation of arginine biosynthesis in soybean cell cultures.

The levels of the activities of argininosuccinate synthetase and argininosuccinate lyase were measured in soybean (glycine max L. var. Mandarin) cell suspension cultures grown in the presence or absence of exogenous arginine. In some experiments, actinomycin D or cycloheximide were also added to the cultures, at critical stages of their growth. The results obtained led to the conclusion that activity of argininosuccinate synthetase is subject to significant inhibition by levels of arginine similar to those found to occur within the cells. Argininosuccinate lyase activity appeared to be enhanced, when arginine levels were increased above those occurring physiologically. Both enzymes appeared to be subject to inactivation, possibly via proteolysis.