[Respiration of wheat roots during inhibition of phospholipase A2 by 4-bromphenacylbromide]

Dependence of oxygen consumption by wheat root cells on the activity of phospholipase A2 (PLA2) was studied. The treatment of excised roots with 4-bromophenacile bromide (BPB), a specific inhibitor of PLA2, caused a decrease in the content of free fatty acids (FFA) and in oxygen consumption of root cells. The latter was prevented by exogenous application of a mixture of FFA. A similar inhibitory effect was caused by BPB after the activation of root respiration by 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP). These data suggest that FFA may be involved in the regulation of respiration through the formation of succinate. This is supported by the fact of reduction of DNP-induced stimulation of oxygen consumption by malonate, known to be an inhibitor of succinate dehydrogenase, and by stimulation of respiration by exogenous application of succinate.