Effect of cold on glucose metabolism by callus and tubers of Solanum tuberosum

This work was done in order to discover the immediate effects of low temperature on glucose metabolism by tissue of Solanum tuberosum. U-¹⁴C]-Glucose was supplied to tubers, and to callus derived from tubers, for 3 hr at 2 and 25°. The detailed distribution of label showed that lowering the temperature of both callus and tuber tissue to 2° caused a striking increase in the percentage of the metabolized label that was recovered in glucose-6-phosphate, fructose-6-phosphate. and glucose-1-phosphate. It is suggested that these results, together with the cold-lability of glycolytic enzymes, indicate that lowering the temperature of potato tissue reduces glycolysis in relation to the activities of other reactions involving hexose phosphates.