Sucrose translocation and storage in the sugar beet

Several physiological processes were studied during sugar beet root development to determine the cellular events that are temporally correlated with sucrose storage. The prestorage stage was characterized by a marked increase in root fresh weight and a low sucrose to glucose ratio. Carbon derived from ¹⁴C-sucrose accumulation was partitioned into protein and structural carbohydrate fractions and their amino acid, organic acid, and hexose precursors. The immature root contained high soluble acid invertase activity (V_max 20 micromoles per hour per milligram protein; K_m 2 to 3 millimolar) which disappeared prior to sucrose storage. Sucrose storage was characterized by carbon derived from ¹⁴C-sucrose uptake being partitioned into the sucrose fraction with little evidence of further metabolism. The onset of storage was accompanied by the appearance of sucrose synthetase activity (V_max 12 micromoles per hour per milligram protein; K_m 7 millimolar). Neither sucrose phosphate synthetase nor alkaline invertase activities were detected during beet development. Intact sugar beet plants (containing a 100-gram beet) exported 70% of the translocate to the beet, greater than 90% of which was retained as sucrose with little subsequent conversions.