Confounding of alternate respiration by lipoxygenase activity.

The initial burst of respiratory activity (Q(o) (2)) of imbibing soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr. var. Wayne) seed tissue is cyanide-insensitive, and sensitive to salicylhydroxamate: presumptive evidence for the presence of alternate respiration. The initial O(2) consumption is also highly sensitive to propyl gallate. Soybean lipoxygenase exhibits similar characteristics of insensitivity to cyanide and sensitivity to salicylhydroxamate and to propyl gallate. The initial burst of respiration is enhanced by the addition of linoleic acid, a lipoxygenase substrate. These results indicate that the conventional tests for alternate respiration in plant tissues can be confounded by lipoxygenase; they also suggest that propyl gallate can be used to assess the possible participation of lipoxygenase in the O(2) uptake by plant tissues.