Seasonal variations in the properties of ribosome assemblies from vegetative buds of Scots pine

The amount of total ribosome assemblies extractable from the vegetative buds of 2 m high Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestrís L.) plants remained more or less constant throughout the sampling period from September to May. The stability of the ribosomes, the shape of the polysome profiles obtained after sucrose density gradient centrifugation and the clustering of material as seen in the scanning electron micrographs suggested the presence of storage formations during the winter.
All samples of isolated ribosomes were able to synthesize proteins in vitro. During midwinter the translation capacity, when calculated on a ribosome unit basis, was about one third of that found in September and May. This reflects not only the occurrence of storage formation during the winter, but also the amount of initiated translation processes at any given time. The decrease in the in vitro translation capacity in the autumn ceases around the end of November. Ribosome activity starts to increase as early as the end of January or beginning of February. It seems that the reactions are triggered either by an endogenous clock or by the change in the daylength.