Cytokinin Metabolism in Phaseolus vulgaris L.: I: VARIATIONS IN CYTOKININ LEVELS IN LEAVES OF DECAPITATED PLANTS IN RELATION TO LATERAL BUD OUTGROWTH

A stable isotope dilution method employing a deuterium-labelledinternal standard and combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometryhas been used to quantify the accumulation of di-hydrozeatin-O-ß-D-glucosidein the primary leaves of decapitated, disbudded bean plants.This cytokinin accumulated at a rate of 11 ng g^–1 fr.wt. d^–1 (eq. to an increase of 50 ng d^–1 per leaf),reaching a maximum of c. 500 ng g^–1 after 40 d from decapitation.This accumulation appeared to parallel the gradual increasein leaf fresh weight, and did not occur in detached leaves,in leaves of intact plants, or in leaves of plants that weredecapitated but not disbudded. When secondary lateral buds wereallowed to grow out from decapitated and initially disbuddedplants, the levels of dihydrozeatin-O-ß-D-glucosidein the primary leaves rapidly declined to a value similar toor lower than that found in leaves of intact plants. A similardecline in dihydrozeatin-O-ß-D-glucoside levels wasseen over 5 d in detached leaves of plants which had been decapitatedand disbudded for 15 d; this effect was reduced but not preventedwhen the leaves were supplied with inorganic nutrients. Theseresults are discussed in relation to the metabolism and distributionof cytokinins in the whole plant.     

THE EFFECTS OF STEADY AND CYCLING TEMPERATURES ON THE ACTIVITY OF THE SLUG DEROCERAS RETICULATUM

At constant temperatures, crawling activity in the slug Derocerasreticulatum has an optimum at 13°C in late winter, and 17°Cin early summer. The optimum for feeding remains at 14°C.Activity has anendogenous basis, but daytime activity increaseswith temperature and long daylengths. Cycling temperatures producemore locomotor activity and less feeding in 24 h than constanttemperatures, even when the temperature is higher at night.However, cooling stimulates and warming inhibits activity duringthe period of change and when cooling occurs at dusk, over halfthe 24 h activity occurs in the next three hours. Faster ratesof cooling produce greater responses, but can result in loweroverall activity because the slugs remain longer at low temperatures. (Received 25 May 1984;     

A Study of the Growth of Four Provenances of Pinus contorta Dougl

A study was carried out on the growth of third- and fourth-yearseedlings of four provenances of Pinus contorta, two of whichwere from high elevations and two from coastal sites. Markeddifferences in height growth were observed, the two coastalprovenances showing significantly greater growth than the twomontane ones. These growth differences were due to differencesin the numbers of needle and stem ‘internode’ primordialaid down in the resting buds in the preceding year, and notto differences in ‘internode’ length in the annualextension shoots. The differences in height growth were paralleledby differences in dry weight. A greater relative height growthrate was shown by one coastal provenance and probably also bythe second, than by the montane provenances. The levels of reservematerials were similar in all provenances. These results arediscussed and it is concluded that the growth of montane provenancesmay be ‘sink limited’ rather than ‘sourcelimited’ when they are grown at lower altitudes.     

Cytokinins in Populus×robusta: Qualitative Changes during Development

Qualitative changes of cytokinins in leaves of different ages from Populus x robusta (Schneid.) have been determined, together with seasonal changes in cytokinin activity in mature leaves and xylem sap. Chromatography on Sephadex LH-20 has shown that total cytokinin activity and diversity are at a maximum in expanding leaves. As leaves age, the amount and number of cytokinins decrease, with yellow senescent leaves having only one detectable cytokinin, thought to be a glucoside. Seasonal changes were followed by chromatography of the extracts on paper in butan-2-ol: 25 % NH₄OH (4:1). Maximum cytokinin levels, due to Fraction Z (Rf 0.5–0.8), in leaves and xylem sap were found in mid-summer. Prior and subsequent to cessation of shoot elongation growth, fraction Z decreased and fraction N (Rf 0–0.2) increased to predominate in senescent leaves. Removal of the apex resulted in an increase of fraction N in leaves from decapitated plants when compared to similar leaves from intact plants. It is suggested that, once apical sink activity has ceased, cytokinins in the xylem sap are diverted into leaves and converted to a cytokinin glucoside, possibly a storage form of the hormone.     

Seed Dormancy in Acer pseudoplatanus L.: the Role of the Covering Structures

The present studies with Acer pseudoplatanus L. suggest thatthe covering structures play an important and multiple rolein the dormancy of the fruit. Whole fruits and seeds with thetesta intact required a period of chilling at 5 °C beforedormancy was broken whereas bare embryos germinated immediatelyat 20 °C without pretreatment. This suggested that dormancywas coat-imposed and that the testa was responsible for thiseffect. Germination of dormant seeds was inhibited by lightwhereas the non-dormant bare embryos showed little response.Studies on the manner in which the testa imposed dormancy onthe embryo indicated that restriction on oxygen uptake, wateruptake, mechanical restriction to embryo enlargement, and thepresence of germination inhibitors in the testa were not limitingfactors at this stage of dormancy. Results from leaching experimentssuggest that dormancy was the result of the restriction by thetesta of the outward diffusion of a germination inhibitor(s)present in the embryo. In seeds that had nearly completed theirstratification requirements, the covering structures seemedto act in a manner other than by preventing the leaching ofan inhibitor from the embryo. At this point the physical propertiesof the covering structures seem to determine any further delaysin germination by the mechanical restriction of embryo enlargementby the testa and by restriction of oxygen uptake by the pericarp.     

A Comparison of the Rates of Growth and Photosynthesis in First-Year Seedlings of Four Provenances of Pinus contorta Dougl

The results of four experiments are reported in which the parametersof growth were examined in first-year seedlings of Pinus contortaDougl. raised from seed of four different geographic origins(provenances). Highly significant differences in net photosynthesis were shownbetween provenances over a wide range of light intensities,in plants of both 12 and 19 weeks of age, when measurement wasmade at a temperature of 20 ?C. Provenances with a high netrate of photosynthesis also had a high rate of dark respiration,consequently provenance differences in gross photosyntheticrate paralleled those in net photosynthetic rate. Leaf-weightratios (i.e. the ratios of leaf weight: plant weight) also differedsignificantly between provenances, and there was an over-allnegative correlation between rates of photosynthesis and leaf-weightratios. Differences in relative growth-rate (RGR) result fromdifferences in the component variables, photosynthetic rate,and leaf-weight ratio. As the values of these two parameterswere negatively correlated in the experiment, the RGRs of thefour provenances differed little during the mid-seasonal periodof growth. It was not possible, despite precise measurementsof dry-weight increment made on plants grown in nutrient solution,to show inter-provenance differences in RGR which were statisticallysignificant during the mid-seasonal period. Marked inter-provenance differences occurred in the length ofgrowing season, as measured by the time interval between germinationand terminal bud formation, and these differences were associatedwith differences in seedling height. They were not, at leastwithin the time period examined, associated with differencesin seedling weight, and the significance of this fact is discussedin terms of productivity studies for forest tree species.     

The Effect of Applied Growth Hormones on Cambial Division and the Differentiation of the Cambial Derivatives

When indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) is applied to woody shoots cambialdivision is stimulated and the cambial derivatives differentiateto produce xylem tissue. When gibberellic acid (GA) is applied,cambial division occurs but the resultant derivatives on thexylem side of the cambium remain undifferentiated. The relativelevels of applied IAA and GA are important in determining whethermainly xylem or phloem tissue is produced. High IAA/low GA concentrationsfavour xylem formation, whereas low IAA/high GA concentrationsfavour phloem production. The new phloem tissue produced asa result of hormone treatment is fully differentiated, containingsieve elements and sieve plates. IAA is important in promotingthe elongation of the cambial derivatives to produce xylem vesseland fibre elements, though in the case of xylem fibres appliedGA causes further elongation. IAA is an important factor indetermining vessel diameter in the ring-porous species Robiniapseudacacia, high levels of applied IAA giving wide springwood-typevessels and low levels giving narrow ‘summerwood’vessels.     

Hormonal Regulation of Seed Dormancy in Hazel (Corylus avellana L.) and Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.)

Dormancy in seeds of hazel (Corylus avellana L.) and beech (Fagussylvatica L.) has been studied with special reference to changesin growth-promoting and inhibiting substances during after-ripening.About 12 weeks at low temperature and under moist conditionsis necessary for complete after-ripening. Gibberellic acid,kinetin, and thiourea stimulate germination in dormant seedsbut have no effect on nuts with the pericarp intact. Gibberellin‘D’ is ten times more active than gibberellic acid.Bio-assays, following chromatographic fractionation of seedextracts, have revealed no significant changes in the concentrationsof auxins and inhibitors during after-ripening. Dwarf maize-leafsection assays have revealed low concentrations of gibberellin-likesubstances in purified extracts of chilled, dormant hazel seedbut no gibberellin activity in extracts of dormant seed. Gibberellinsare present in both dormant and germinating beech seeds butthere appear to be differences in the chromatographic patternof activity. The possible role of endogenous gibberellins inthe after-ripening process is discussed.