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Lecithinase Activity of Chloroplasts

Abstract

THE low nitrogen/phosphorus ratio of phospholipids isolated from fresh carrot root or cabbage leaves has been shown to result from the loss of nitrogenous bases by enzymatic action during their isolation1,2. A preliminary attempt to extract phospholipids from spinach chloroplasts gave a product with a low nitrogen/phosphorus ratio, suggestive of similar enzymatic degradation. Although lecithinase activity has been investigated in a variety of plants1–6, the occurrence of lecithinases in chloroplasts has not been reported before.

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KATES, M. Lecithinase Activity of Chloroplasts. Nature 172, 814–815 (1953). https://doi.org/10.1038/172814a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/172814a0

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