We investigated the differential expression of AOX1 multi-gene family and the regulation of alternative respiratory pathway during initial greening development in leaves of rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings. After exposing the dark-grown rice seedlings to continuous irradiation, total respiration (Vt), capacity of alternative pathway (Valt), and their ratio (Valt/Vt) increased with the greening of leaves. In this process, AOX1c transcript increased under constant irradiation, while AOX1a and AOX1b transcripts were hardly detected. Thus AOX1c in rice presents a similar expression pattern as AOX2 does in many dicotyledonous species during greening development. Compared with the rapid increase of cyanideresistant respiration in the presence of photon energy, CO2 fixation was not observed until 8 h after the onset of irradiation. The AOX inhibitor salicylhydroxamic acid (SHAM; 1 mM) inhibited 67.3 % of cyanide-insensitive oxygen uptake in dark-grown leaves and 69.4 % of it in leaves grown under irradiation. Dark-grown plants pre-treated with SHAM were then irradiated for 12 h. SHAM did not obviously modify photosynthetic CO2 fixation rate on a chlorophyll (Chl) content basis in both leaves and simultaneously isolated chloroplasts. Hence during initial greening steps of the plants, the induction of alternative pathway and AOX1 expression by irradiation is not directly linked with carbon assimilation of photosynthesis. The application of SHAM partially limited Chl production in rapidly greening leaves, indicating that Chl synthesis in the process of greening might be medicated to some extent by alternative respiratory pathway. and H. Q. Feng ... [et al.].