Ilydroxamic acids, R-CONHOH, are inhibitors specific to the respiratory pathway through the alternate, cyanideinsensitive terminal oxidase of plant mitochondria. The nature of the R group in these compounds affects the concentration at which the hydroxamic acids are effective, but it appears that all hydroxamic acids inhibit if high enough concentrations are used. The benzhydroxamic acids are effective at relatively low concentrations; of these, the most effective are m-chlorobenzhydroxamic acid and m-iodobenzhydroxamic acid. The concentrations required for halfmaximal inhibition of the alternate oxidase pathway in mung bean (Phaseolus aureus) mitochondria are 0.03 mM for m-chlorobenzhydroxamic acid and 0.02 mM for m-iodobenzhydroxamic acid. With skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) mitochondria, the required concentrations are 0.16 for m-chlorobenzhydroxamic acid and 0.05 for m-iodobenzhydroxamic acid. At concentrations which inhibit completely the alternate oxidase pathway, these two compounds have no discernible effect on either the respiratory pathway through cytochrome oxidase, or on the energy coupling reactions of these mitochondria. These inhibitors make it possible to isolate the two respiratory pathways and study their mode of action separately. These inhibitors also enhance an electron paramagnetic resonance signal near g = 2 in anaerobic, submitochondrial particles from skunk cabbage, which appears to be specific to the alternate oxidase and thus provides a means for its assay.Mitochondria isolated from a number of plant tissues show incomplete inhibition of respiration by cyanide. Outstanding in this respect are mitochondria isolated from the spadices of aroids; in particular, Arum maculatum (1, 4) and skunk cabbage, Symplocarpusfoetidus (2,12,13,31), which show little, if any, sensitivity to cyanide inhibition. Mitochondria from the hypocotyls of etiolated mung beans (Phaseolus aureus) show partial sensitivity; approximately 70% of the state 3 rate is inhibited by cyanide or antimycin A (16). In contrast, the respiration of mitochondria isolated from potato tubers (Solanum tuberosum) shows nearly complete inhibition by either of these compounds. Bendall and Bonner (2) have critically evaluated the various hypotheses which have been proposed to explain this behavior and conclude

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Peroxidase-catalyzed halogenation reactions have been established as being important in the biosynthesis of the hormone thyroxine and in biological defense mechanisms. Recently these reactions have been recognized as valuable tools for the study of proteins as well as their arrangement in macromolecular structures. The pathways of peroxidase catalyses can be accommodated within the framework of the classical Chance-George mechanism. This implies that the initial steps of the reaction invariably involve oxidation of peroxidases by peroxides--and that the resulting derivative, compound I, is the oxidant of the halide ions. Such reactions may result either in the formation of hypohalous acids, or in halogenation of the enzyme apoprotein, followed by transhalogenation to substrate for halogenation. Chloro- and myeloperoxidases catalyze oxidation of all halide ions, except F-; oxidation of bromide and iodide is mediated by lactoperoxidase, but horseradish peroxidase only oxidizes iodide. All of the above enzymes except horseradish will oxidize the pseudo halide thiocyanate. The origins of this differentiation remain to be defined, but they presumably reflect significant variation in oxidation potential of different peroxidase-peroxide derivatives, rather than constraints on the peroxidase-donor interactions. As pointed out above, halogenation of the amino acids tyrosine and histidine or these residues in proteins can take place on the enzyme. This makes lactoperoxidase-catalyzed iodination selective. The amino acid residues in proteins that are iodinated depend not only on reactivity of the amino acid residue but also on its geometric location. Thus lactoperoxidase-catalyzed iodination can be a useful tool in the study of protein structure and function. It is also useful in establishing the geometric position of proteins within macromolecular structures. Thyroid peroxidase catalyzes iodination of thyroglobulin and is involved in a second important step, the coupling of the iodotyrosines to form thyroxine or triiodothyronine. A proposed mechanism for this reaction suggests that the oxidation is mediated by the iodoenzyme derivative mentioned above followed by a prototropic rearrangement and scission to form the ether bound of thyronine and a serine residue on thyroglobulin.

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