Impaired Anthocyanin Production in Barbiturate treated Zea mays Seedlings

Anthocyanin production was impaired in both roots and shootsof Zea mays seedlings germinated on 1 and 2 mM concentrationsof four barbiturates having different lipid/aqueous partitioncoefficients. The severity of impaired anthocyanin productionwas greater in those seedlings treated with the higher lipidsoluble barbiturates irrespective of the concentrations used.Indirect evidence is presented which indicates that barbituratesinterfere with normal membrane physiology responsible for anthocyaninproduction. Anthocyanin, barbiturate, seedlings, Zea mays     

Light Control of Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in Zea Seedlings

Evidence for involvement of two non-photosynthetic pigments in photoinduction of anthocyanin biosynthesis in the roots and mesocotyls of Zea mays L. seedlings is presented. Short (5 min), low energy (4.5 × 10³ J m^?2) fluences of red light neither induced anthocyanin synthesis nor enhanced phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity in dark-grown maize seedlings. Little anthocyanin synthesis and no enhancement of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity was induced by continuous far-red light. Continuous white or blue light induced both anthocyanin synthesis and enhanced phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity. These results show that phytochrome alone cannot induce anthocyanin synthesis in maize seedlings. However, a strong phytochrome mediation of white light induced pigment synthesis was demonstrated. This effect was not demonstrable with white light enhanced phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity, indicating that phytochrome controls another step in anthocyanin biosynthesis.     

Niacin Biosynthesis in Seedlings of Zea mays

Evidence obtained from incubation of corn (Zea mays cv. Golden Bantam) seedlings in dl-[benzene ring-U-(14)C]tryptophan, l-[5-(3)H]tryptophan, l-[U-(14)C]aspartate and [U-(14)C]glycerol indicates that niacin is synthesized in these plants via oxidative degradation of tryptophan. Aspartate and glycerol do not appear to be precursors of niacin in corn seedlings.     

Photosynthetic Independence of Light-induced Anthocyanin Formation in Zea Seedlings

Results are reported which support the view that the photosynthetic photosystems are not involved in the high irradiance response (HIR) phenomenon of light-dependent anthocyanin biosynthesis in dark-grown Zea mays L. seedlings. A negative correlation between change in greening rates and change in light-dependent anthocyanin accumulation rates with age was demonstrated. Lack of chlorophyll synthesis in a strain of maize possessing a temperature-sensitive lesion for chlorophyll synthesis could not be correlated with light-induced anthocyanin accumulation. Furthermore, seedlings totally lacking photosynthetic capabilities, either due to a genetic lesion or to excision of all photosynthetic tissue, had an enhanced rate of photoinduced anthocyanin formation. This evidence indicates that the HIR results in the initiation of processes that are in competition with chloroplast development for substrate in normal, intact seedlings.     

Lipid Composition of Zea mays Seedlings and Water Stress-Induced Changes

The imposition of a polyethylene glycol-induced osmotic stressof –1.5 MPa for 48 h on 28 d old Zea mays (cv. Style Pak)seedlings resulted in a 44% decreased stem dry weight and increasedtriglyceride levels in stem and leaf tissues; increased sterylester levels also occurred in stems. The magnitude of theseincreases was such that, on a dry weight basis, there were increasedtotal triglyceride and steryl ester levels in the seedlingsafter the 48 h applied stress. In stems the increased triglyceridelevel was evident in all of the component fatty acids examined,whereas in leaves it was associated mainly with one fatty acidcomponent, viz. linolenic acid (C18: 3). Changes in sterol levels were small but significant and largelyrestricted to the stem. Proline levels of all three tissuesincreased in response to water-stressing the seedlings and thegreatest increase also occurred in the stem tissues.     

Regulation of ACC-Dependent Ethylene Production by Excised Leaves from Normal and Albino Zea mays L. Seedlings

Dunlap, J. R. 1988. Regulation of ACC-dependent ethylene productionby excised leaves from normal and albino Zea mays L. seedlings.—J.exp. Bot. 39: 1079–1089. Albino corn (Zea mays L.) seedlings lacking natural leaf pigmentswere obtained by germinating seeds treated with fluridone, aninhibitor of carotenoid biosynthesis. Basal rates of ethyleneproduction were less than 2.0 nl g^–1 fr. wt h^–1in both treated (albino) and untreated (normal) leaves but increasedby 10- to 20-fold in the presence of added ACC. ACC-dependentethylene production (ADEP) was inhibited by cobalt or cyanideions and stimulated by NaHCO₃, CO₂ and light. ADEP in both tissueswas stimulated by glucose, fructose, galactose and sucrose.The accumulation of respiratory CO₂ did not account for thecarbohydrate response. The decline in the ADEP characteristicof albino leaf tissue was slowed by incubation in the presenceof sucrose. IAA and ABA stimulated ADEP in normal leaves butinhibited ADEP in albino leaves. Sucrose-stimulated ADEP wasinhibited in albino leaf tissue treated with IAA or ABA indicatinga possible role for the chloroplast in carbohydrate-facilitatedADEP. However, results from this study suggest that chloroplastsperform a function in the regulation of ethylene productionby leaf tissue that extends beyond merely influencing internallevels of CO₂. In the absence of detectable ACC, EFE was responsiblefor the entire series of responses expressed in regulation ofethylene biosynthesis by corn seedling leaf tissue. Key words: Corn, ethylene, sugars, phytohormones     

Root Graviresponsiveness and Columella Cell Structure in Carotenoid-deficient Seedlings of Zea mays

Root graviresponsiveness in normal and carotenoid-deficientmutant seedlings of Zea mays was not significantly different.Columella cells in roots of mutant seedlings were characterizedby fewer, smaller, and a reduced relative volume of plastidsas compared to columella cells of normal seedlings. Plastidsin columella cells of mutant seedlings possessed reduced amountsof starch. Although approximately 10 per cent of the columellacells in mutant seedlings lacked starch, their plastids werelocated at the bottom of the cell. These results suggest that(i) carotenoids are not necessary for root gravitropism, (ii)graviresponsiveness is not necessarily proportional to the size,number, or relative volume of plastids in columella cells, and(iii) sedimentation of plastids in columella cells may not resultdirectly from their increased density due to starch content.Plastids in columella cells of normal and mutant seedlings wereassociated with bands of microtubule-like structures, suggestingthat these structures may be involved in ‘positioning’plastids in the cell. Zea mays, graviperception, graviresponsiveness, carotenoids, vp-9 mutant, columella cell, roots     

Transport and Metabolism of Indole-3-Acetyl-myo-Inositol-Galactoside in Seedlings of Zea mays

Indole-3-acetyl-myo-inositol galactoside labeled with ³H in the indole and ¹⁴C in the galactose moieties was applied to kernels of 5 day old germinating seedlings of Zea mays. Indole-3-acetyl-myo-inositol galactoside was not transported into either the shoot or root tissue as the intact molecule but was instead hydrolyzed to yield [³H]indole-3-acetyl-myo-inositol and [³H]indole-3-acetic acid which were then transported to the shoot with little radioactivity going to the root. With certain assumptions concerning the equilibration of applied [³H]indole-3-acetyl-myo-inositol-[U-¹⁴C]galactose with the endogenous pool, it may be concluded that indole-3-acetyl-myo-inositol galactoside in the endosperm supplies about 2 picomoles per plant per hour of indole-3-acetyl-myo-inositol and 1 picomole per plant per hour of indole-3-acetic acid to the shoot and thus is comparable to indole-3-acetyl-myo-inositol as a source of indole-acetic acid for the shoot. Quantitative estimates of the amount of galactose in the kernels suggest that [³H]indole-3-acetyl-myo-inositol-[¹⁴C] galactose is hydrolyzed after the compound leaves the endosperm but before it reaches the shoot. In addition, [³H]indole-3-acetyl-myo-inositol-[¹⁴C]galactose supplies appreciable amounts of ¹⁴C to the shoot and both ¹⁴C and ³H to an uncharacterized insoluble fraction of the endosperm.     

低浓度NaCl对玉米幼苗光合作用的影响

以Hoagland溶液为基础培养液,采用沙培法,研究了0,5,10,20,30mmol／LNaCl对玉米（Zeamays）幼苗光合作用的影响。结果表明,低浓度NaCl（5,10mmol／LNaCl）处理使其叶绿素含量增加,Chla／Chlb增大,PEPCase活性提高,光合速率增强。说明低盐促进玉米的光合作用可能与叶绿素含量增加,Chla／Chlb增大以及PEPCase活性提高有关。     

Determination of Inositol in Inbred and Hybrid Corn (Zea mays) Seedlings

Four inbred (W_f9, Hy₂, B₁₀, and 38–11) plus three hybrid(W_f9 x 38.11, US13, and B₁₀ x Hy2) corn (Zea mays) seedlingstrains (minus seed coat and endosperm) were assayed for totaland free myoinositol content, using a mutant inositol-less straino Neurospora crassa. Over a 120-h germination period, it wasfound that the concentration of total myoinositol decreasedin both of the respective varieties. The inbred corn seedling strains, assayed in this study, appearto demonstrate a lower decrease in total myoinositol than dothe hybrids, over the same 120-h germination period. Concomitantly,the hybrid strains have a higher percentage increase in freemyoinositol than do the inbred varieties, over the same germinationtime period. The hybrid corn seedling strains appear to havea greater capacity to mediate the metabolism of total to freemyoinositol, during the early stages of germination, comparedto the inbred varieties.     

Cytosolic Ascorbate Peroxidase in Seedlings and Leaves of Maize (Zea mays)

Ascorbate peroxidase (APX) was purified to homogeneity frommaize (Zea mays L. cv.) coleoptiles. APX was a monomer witha molecular mass of 28 kDa, as determined by gel nitration andSDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. It contained one protohememoiety per molecule, with the oxidized form giving a Soret peakat 403 nm with small peaks at 502 and 638 nm, and the reducedform giving peaks at 435 and 556 nm. The enzyme was not inactivatedby depletion of ascorbate. Cell fractionation and immunohistochemicalstudies using polyclonal antibodies raised against maize APXrevealed that the enzyme was not located in the chloroplastsof green leaves. It was abundant in the cytoplasm but not inthe vacuoles of cells in the coleoptile, mesocotyl and youngleaves of seedlings. In mature green leaves, small amounts ofthe enzyme were distributed in vascular systems, in particularin the companion cells. The N-terminal amino acid sequence ofmaize APX exhibited high homology to pea cytosolic APX, spinachAPX and Arabidopsis APX, but not to APX from tea chloroplasts. (Received February 15, 1993; Accepted May 6, 1993)     

Asymmetric Distribution of Glucose and Indole-3-Acetyl-myo-Inositol in Geostimulated Zea mays Seedlings

Indole-3-acetyl-myo-inositol occurs in both the kernel and vegetative shoot of germinating Zea mays seedlings. The effect of a gravitational stimulus on the transport of [³H]-5-indole-3-acetyl-myo-inositol and [U-¹⁴C]-d-glucose from the kernel to the seedling shoot was studied. Both labeled glucose and labeled indole-3-acetyl-myo-inositol become asymmetrically distributed in the mesocotyl cortex of the shoot with more radioactivity occurring in the bottom half of a horizontally placed seedling. Asymmetric distribution of [³H]indole-3-acetic acid, derived from the applied [³H]indole-3-acetyl-myo-inositol, occurred more rapidly than distribution of total ³H-radioactivity. These findings demonstrate that the gravitational stimulus can induce an asymmetric distribution of substances being transported from kernel to shoot. They also indicate that, in addition to the transport asymmetry, gravity affects the steady state amount of indole-3-acetic acid derived from indole-3-acetyl-myo-inositol.     

Physiological Responses of Zea mays Seedlings to Interactions Between Cadmium and Salinity

The effects of 0, 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 pmol/L Cd^2＋（Cd（NO3）2.4H2O） and 0, 10, 25, 50, and 100 mmol/L NaCl on growth, photosynthesis and the content of some ions in maize （Zea mays L.） were investigated in the present study. With Increasing concentrations of Cd^2＋ or NaCI alone in Hoagland nutrient solution, the chlorophylls and starch content decreased. Combination treatment with salinity and cadmium increased the negative effects observed following the two stresses alone. Plants exhibiting growth retardation in response to one mild stress factor （25-50 mmol/L NaCl） became more tolerant to the other stress factor （Cd）. The exposure of plants to cadmium caused a partial reversal of the effects of salinity. Root and shoot growth, ion accumulation and levels of photosynthetic pigments were improved at moderate concentrations of the two stress factors Imposed jointly.     

Cyanide-resistant Respiration and Cold Resistance in Seedlings of Maize (Zea mays L.

Respiratory activity of mitochondria isolated from seedlingsof two cold-resistant and two cold-susceptible maize cultivarswas examined. The greater potential for cyanide-resistant respirationfound in the cold-resistant seedlings raises the possibilityof a role for the alternative respiratory pathway in cold-resistance. alternative respiration, cold-resistance, cyanide-resistant respiration, maize, mitochondria, Zea mays     

Carbon Dioxide Production by Dry Grain of Zea mays

Use of the gas chromatograph and a mercury-to-glass sealed respirometer adapted for gas syringe sampling, allowed the rapid, accurate characterization of CO₂ evolution rates from live and from dead-sterile Zea mays L. grain dried to moisture levels of 12.6 to 1.4%. The live grain at the lowest moisture level showed an elevated rate inconsistent with the exponential increase in rate of CO₂ evolution with increasing moisture found for maize with moisture contents from 4 to 12.6%. At the lowest moisture level, rates of CO₂ evolution from dead-sterile grain were greater than for live grain. Moisture had no effect on CO₂ evolution from dead-sterile grain. Increasing temperature and increasing levels of O₂ in the storage atmosphere resulted in increased rates of CO₂ evolution from both live and dead-sterile maize. CO₂ production rates from live and from dead-sterile grain decreased with increasing storage time, even though respirometer CO₂ concentrations were less than 1% at the end of the experiment. Our results indicate that CO₂ production is not a dependable measure of respiration in dry seeds. Other experiments indicate that oxygen absorption also is not reliable in maize grain.     

Control of Nitrate Uptake by Phloem-Translocated Glutamine in Zea mays L. Seedlings

Abstract: The putative role of glutamine, exported from leaves to roots, as a negative feedback signal for nitrate uptake was investigated in Zea mays L. seedlings. Glutamine (Gln) was supplied by immersion of the tip-cut leaves in a concentrated solution. Nitrate (NO₃⁻) uptake was measured by its depletion in amino acid-free medium. The treatment with Gln resulted in a strong inhibition of nitrate uptake rate, accompanied by a significant enrichment of amino compounds in root tissue. The effect of N-availability on NO₃⁻ uptake was determined in split-root cultures. The plants were subjected to complete or localized N supply. Inducible NO₃⁻ uptake systems were also induced in N-deprived roots when the opposite side of the root system was supplied with KNO₃. The inhibitory effect of Gln was unaffected by localized N supply on one side of the split-root. The potential role of Gln in the shoot-to-root control of NO₃⁻ uptake is discussed.     

Root Growth, Secondary Root Formation and Root Gravitropism in Carotenoid-deficient Seedlings of Zea mays L.

The effect of ABA on root growth, secondary-root formation androot gravitropism in seedlings of Zea mays was investigatedby using Fluridone-treated seedlings and a viviparous mutant,both of which lack carotenoids and ABA. Primary roots of seedlingsgrown in the presence of Fluridone grew significantly slowerthan those of control (i.e. untreated) roots. Elongation ofFluridone-treated roots was inhibited significantly by the exogenousapplication of 1 mM ABA. Exogenous application of 1 µMand 1 nM ABA had either no effect or only a slight stimulatoryeffect on root elongation, depending on the method of application.The absence of ABA in Fluridone-treated plants was not an importantfactor in secondary-root formation in seedlings less than 9–10d old. However, ABA may suppress secondary-root formation inolder seedlings, since 11-d-old control seedlings had significantlyfewer secondary roots than Fluridone-treated seedlings. Rootsof Fluridone-treated and control seedlings were graviresponsive.Similar data were obtained for vp-9 mutants of Z. mays, whichare phenotypically identical to Fluridone-treated seedlings.These results indicate that ABA is necessary for neither secondary-rootformation nor for positive gravitropism by primary roots. Zea mays, gravitropism, carotenoid-deficient, Fluridone, root growth, vp-9 mutant     

Metabolism and Translocation of Exogenous Zeatin Riboside in Germinating Seeds and Seedlings of Zea mays

High specific activity [³H]-zeatin riboside (ZR) was suppliedto germinating seed and developing seedlings of Zea mays tostudy its metabolism and translocation The major metabolitesof ZR in endosperm, embryo, and first leaves were adenosine,adenine, and adenine nucleotide When ZR was supplied to theradicle tip a significant proportion of the radioactivity extractedfrom the radicle was identified as zeatin-9-glucoside (Z9G).However, some ZR was also transported to the shoot and vestigialembryo During the initial stage of germination, movement ofzeatin riboside from the embryo to the endosperm was pronouncedbut little movement occurred in the reverse direction Key words: Zea mays cytokinin, zeatin riboside, metabolism, translocation