Oxidative phosphorylation by plant mitochondria

It has been found that mitochondria of a higher plant, the mung bean, are capable of carrying on phosphorylation at the expense of substrate oxidation. In the system studied, adenylate is phosphorylated and this phosphorylation may be followed analytically by the disappearance of inorganic phosphate from the reaction mixture. Oxidative phosphorylation occurs with all of the oxidative steps of the Krebs cycle. In the system studied, one mole of phosphate is taken up and incorporated into organic form for each atom (one-half mole) of oxygen consumed in oxidation. The coupling of oxidation to phosphorylation may be severed by 2,4-dinitrophenol in the plant as in other systems.