Purification and characterization of a novel NADPH(NADH)-dependent glyoxylate reductase from spinach leaves. Comparison of immunological properties of leaf glyoxylate reductase and hydroxypyruvate reductase.

A novel reductase displaying high specificity for glyoxylate and NADPH was purified 3343-fold from spinach leaves. The enzyme was found to be an oligomer of about 125 kDa, composed of four equal subunits of 33 kDa each. A Km for glyoxylate was about 14-fold lower with NADPH than with NADH (0.085 and 1.10 mM respectively), but the maximal activity, 210 mumol/min per mg of protein, was similar with either cofactor. Km values for NADPH and NADH were 3 and 150 microM respectively. Optimal rates with either NADPH or NADH were found in the pH range 6.5-7.4. The enzyme also showed some reactivity towards hydroxypyruvate with rates less than 2% of those observed for glyoxylate. Results of immunological studies, using antibodies prepared against either glyoxylate reductase or spinach peroxisomal hydroxypyruvate reductase, suggested substantial differences in molecular structure of the two proteins. The high rates of NADPH(NADH)-glyoxylate reductase in crude leaf extracts of spinach, wheat and soya bean (30-45 mumol/h per mg of chlorophyll) and its strong affinity for glyoxylate suggest that the enzyme may be an important side component of photorespiration in vivo. In leaves of nitrogen-fixing legumes, this reductase may also be involved in ureide breakdown, utilizing the glyoxylate produced during allantoate metabolism.