Mechanically isolated Asparagus sprengeri Regel mesophyll cells cause alkalinization of the suspension medium on the addition of l-glutamate or its analog l-methionine-d,l-sulfoximine. Using a radiolabeled pH probe, it was found that both compounds caused internal acidification whereas l-aspartate did not. Fusicoccin stimulated H(+) efflux from the cells by 111% and the uptake of l-[U-(14)C]glutamate by 55%. Manometric experiments demonstrated that, unlike l-methionine-d,l-sulfoximine, l-glutamate stimulated CO(2) evolution from nonilluminated cells. Simultaneous measurements of medium alkalinization and (14)CO(2) evolution upon the addition of labeled l-glutamate showed that alkalinization was immediate and reached a maximum value after 45 minutes whereas (14)CO(2) evolution exhibited a lag before its appearance and continued in a linear manner for at least 100 minutes. Rates of alkalinization and uptake of l-[U-(14)C]glutamate were higher in the light while rates of (14)CO(2) evolution were higher in the dark. The major labeled product of glutamate decarboxylation, gamma-aminobutyric acid, was found in the cells and the suspension medium. Its addition to the cell suspension did not result in medium alkalinization and evidence indicates that it is lost from the cell to the medium. The data suggest that the origin of medium alkalinization is co-transport not metabolism, and that the loss of labeled CO(2) and gamma-aminobutyric acid from the cell result in an overestimation of the stoichiometry of the H(+)/l-glutamate uptake process.