Evidence has been provided that the plant uncoupling proteins (pUCP) play basic physiological roles similar to the other uncoupling protein subfamily members (mammalian UCP1,2,3,4 and BMCP) and are effective in the situations of slight uncoupling that leads to: (1) accelerated respiration and metabolic rates that are beneficial to plant growth and development; (2) decreased formation of reactive oxygen species in mitochondria; and, (3) mild thermogenesis, inevitably accompanying the previous two phenomena. Hypothetically, specific physiological roles of pUCP such as cut off of ATP synthesis could be manifested in connection with climacteric respiratory rise during fruit ripening, seed dormancy, and plant senescence. pUCP might also facilitate growth under low temperatures, e.g., during seed germination or in roots. The existence of these specific roles is suggested by the immunochemical and functional localization of pUCP in mitochondria of fruits, seeds and roots of various plant species.
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Research Article|
April 01 2001
Possible Basic and Specific Functions of Plant Uncoupling Proteins (pUCP)
Petr Ježek;
Petr Ježek
1Department of Membrane Transport Biophysics No. 375, Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Videňská 1083, CZ 14220, Prague, Czech Republic
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Jirí Borecký;
Jirí Borecký
1Department of Membrane Transport Biophysics No. 375, Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Videňská 1083, CZ 14220, Prague, Czech Republic
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Markêta Zácková;
Markêta Zácková
1Department of Membrane Transport Biophysics No. 375, Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Videňská 1083, CZ 14220, Prague, Czech Republic
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Alexandre D. T. Costa;
Alexandre D. T. Costa
2Departamento de Patologia Clínica (NMCE), Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, CP 6111, 13083-970, Campinas, SP, Brazil
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Paulo Arruda
Paulo Arruda
3Centro de Biologia Molecular e Engenharia Genética (CBMEG), Universidade Estadual de Campinas, CP 6109, 13083-970, Campinas, SP, Brazil
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Online ISSN: 1573-4935
Print ISSN: 0144-8463
© 2001 Plenum Publishing Corporation
2001
Biosci Rep (2001) 21 (2): 237–245.
Citation
Petr Ježek, Jirí Borecký, Markêta Zácková, Alexandre D. T. Costa, Paulo Arruda; Possible Basic and Specific Functions of Plant Uncoupling Proteins (pUCP). Biosci Rep 1 April 2001; 21 (2): 237–245. doi: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013660611154
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