Anther Respiratory Activity and Chilling Resistance in Rice

The respiration of anthers in several rice cultivars differingin chilling resistance was analysed with Arrhenius plots. Theplots for respiration of mature anthers showed linearity ina temperature range between 7 and 35?C, whereas those of meioticanthers showed breaks at a temperature range between 18 and24?C. The break point in a given cultivar was nearly identicalto the temperature below which the meiotic anthers sufferedfrom chilling injury. The break in the Arrhenius plots indicatedthat the meiotic anthers were very susceptible to chilling.In addition, cultivars with relatively high chilling resistanceshowed lower critical temperatures for meiotic anther respirationthan those with relatively low resistance. Reciprocal F₁ hybridsbetween two cultivars with relatively high and low resistanceshowed almost the same respiratory parameters as those of theparent with high resistance, suggesting that the parameterswere inheritable as a dominant character. We postulate thatthere is a close correlation between the chilling sensitivityof anthers and the dependence of respiratory activity upon temperature,and that the critical temperature of meiotic anthers can betaken as an indicator of the degree of chilling resistance inrice plants. (Received March 17, 1984; Accepted July 25, 1984)