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The Occurrence of Nitrate Reductase in Leaves of Prunus Species ¹

^a Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48823

Nitrate reductase was found in leaves of apricot Prunus armeniaca, sour cherry P. cerasus, sweet cherry P. avium, and plum P. domestica, but not in peach P. persica, from trees grown in sand culture receiving a nitrate containing nutrient solution. Nitrate was found in the leaves of all species. Nitrate and nitrate reductase were found in leaves of field-grown apricot, sour cherry, and plum trees. The enzyme-extracting medium contained insoluble polyvinylpyrrolidone, and including dithiothreitol or mercaptobenzothiazole did not improve enzyme recovery. Inclusion of cherry leaf extract diminished, and peach leaf extract abolished, recovery of nitrate reductase from oat tissue. Low molecular weight phenols liberated during extraction were probably responsible for inactivation of the enzyme. The enzyme from apricot was two to three times as active as from the other species. Both nicotine adenine diphosphopyridine nucleotide and flavin mononucleotide were effective electron donors. The enzyme was readily induced in apricot leaves by 10 mM nitrate supplied through the leaf petiole.

¹ Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station Journal Article No. 5313. This paper is a portion of a Ph.D. thesis submitted to Michigan State University in 1970 by D. R. Leece.