Related Experiment Videos
Function of the alternative oxidase: is it still a scavenger?
Anthony L Moore1, Mary S Albury, Paul G Crichton
1School of Biological Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, UK BN1 9QG. a.l.moore@sussex.ac.uk
Trends in Plant Science
|November 6, 2002
Abstract:
The alternative oxidase is a respiratory chain protein found in all higher plants, fungi, non-fermentative yeasts and trypanosomes. Its primary structure suggests that it is a new member of the di-iron carboxylate protein family. Recent sequence analysis indicates an evolutionary relationship between primitive members of this protein family and the alternative oxidase, suggesting that its early function was to scavenge di-oxygen. However, modelling of plant growth kinetics suggests a different function.