Light activation of the plant enzyme which oxidizes glycolic acid.

A wide variety of plants contains enzymes capable of rapidly oxidizing l-lactic, glycolic, and glyoxylic acids (1). Although the enzyme oxidizing glycolic acid was found in the green parts of many plants, it was absent from roots and etiolated seedlings. However, the active enzyme could be obtained from etiolated barley or bean seedlings that had been illuminated for several hours. This suggested that light and perhaps chlorophyll play important roles in activating the enzyme. When 1 mole of glycolic acid is oxidized by a highly purified lyophilized enzyme ,preparation from the leaves of tobacco, it yields 1 mole of formic acid, 1 mole of carbon dioxide, and takes up 1 mole of oxygen c2). The oxidation of glycolic acid by crude plant sap from tobacco leaves is ac* companied by the uptake of considerably more than 1 mole of oxygen per mole of acid, but little carbon dioxide and formic acid ‘are produced. The compounds formed during the oxidation of glycolic acid by crude enzyme preparations have been investigated.