Physiological characterization of a plastidic signal required for nitrate-induced appearance of nitrate and nitrite reductases.

We compared the response of NO 3 (-) -induced nitrate-reductase (NR) and nitrite-reductase (NIR) levels in virtually carotenoid-free far-red-light-grown mustard (Sinapis alba L.) cotyledons following a photooxidative treatment of the plastids. The cytosolic localization of NR and the plastidic localization of NIR were confirmed with this approach. Emphasis was on a plastidic factor previously postulated to be involved obligatorily in the transcriptional control of nuclear genes coding for proteins destined for the chloroplast. Photooxidative damage of the plastid would be to destroy the ability of the organelle to send off this signal. Dependency of NIR and NR induction by NO 3 (-) on the plastidic factor is described in detail, and it is concluded that requirement for the plastidic factor is relatively high in the case of NR while factor requirement to allow induction is low in the case of NIR. The data indicate that in the case of NIR the photooxidative damage done to the plastid also affects accumulation of the enzyme directly. Since this effect is absent in the case of cytosolic NR, induction of NR is a particularly suitable system for further molecular studies of the plastidic factor and its mode of action.