Long Distance Transport in Macrocystis integrifolia: II. Tracer Experiments with C and P

Discs from mature regions of Macrocystis blades picked up significantly more [³²P]phosphate from the ambient medium than similar discs from young meristematic regions, and this uptake was higher in light than in darkness. Double-labeling experiments with NaH¹⁴CO₃ and [³²P]phosphate, using intact fronds as well as cut frond segments, indicated that ³²P was translocated from mature blades to sink regions at velocities of 25 to 45 centimeters per hour, velocities comparable to ¹⁴C translocation velocity in the same material. There was a slight delay in transport of ³²P which may be due to a delay in loading or to a high metabolism of ³²P in the transporting channels. Histoautoradiography of stipe segments in the translocation pathway indicated that transport of label occurred in the peripheral parts of medulla. An analysis of ³²P-labeled compounds in the fed blade and in the sieve tube sap, collected from basal cut ends of stipes, indicated major differences in labeling patterns. In the blade, a high proportion of ³²P was recovered as inorganic phosphate and relatively small amounts were found in hexose mono- and diphosphates, UDPG and ATP. In the sieve tube sap, however, only a small amount of ³²P was present as inorganic phosphate, a large proportion was found in hexose mono- and diphosphates, and appreciable amounts were present in ATP and UDPG.