Effect of Glufosinate (Phosphinothricin) and Inhibitors of Photorespiration on Photosynthesis and Ribulose-1,5-Bisphosphate Carboxylase Activity

Summary Glufosinate (phosphinothricin) irreversibly inhibits glutamine synthetase and leads to a great decrease in the amino acids glutamine, glutamate, aspartate, serine, glycine and alanine. Due to the lack of glutamate and serine, the transamination of glyoxylate into glycine in the course of photorespiration cannot take place. The inhibition of this part of the photorespiratory process plays the essential role with respect to the photosynthesis inhibition caused by PPT under atmospheric conditions. After addition of different photorespiration or Calvin cycle intermediates to phosphinothricin no decrease in photosynthesis inhibition can be measured. This suggests that photosynthesis inhi…