Enzymes of Nitrogen Metabolism in Legume Nodules: a Comparative Study

Levels of activity of glutamine synthetase, glutamate dehydrogenase and NADH-dependent glutamate synthase in nodule cytoplasm extracts of twelve herbaceous legume species have been measured. Nodules of all species contained substantial quantities of glutamine synthetase. Levels of glutamate synthase were found to be between 7 and 100% of those of glutamine synthetase, while levels of glutamate dehydrogenase varied widely between 0.2 and 150% of those of glutamine synthetase. The estimated Km for hydroxylamine of glutamine synthetase was found to vary between 0.02 and 0.5 mM in nine species tested, while that of glutamate dehydrogenase for ammonia varied between 0.03 M and 0.1 M in the four species containing significant levels of that enzyme. It is proposed that the pathway of ammonia assimilation via glutamine synthetase and NADH-dependent glutamate synthase-catalysed reactions is universal in legume nodule metabolism.