Histochemical Localization of Enzymes in the Cucurbitaceae Acid Phosphatases: Acid Phosphatases

Histochemical localization of acid phosphatases was successfullycarried out on the steins of Cucumis, Cucwbita and Colocynthis—threeof the most important genera of the Cucurbitaceae whose speciesare cultivated for their fruits in the tropics. The localizationsshowed generally widespread activity and similarity in distributionfor this enzyme in the tissues of these plants. For each plantacid phosphatase activity decreased with age. The possible significanceof these localizations has been discussed in the light of thedistributional evidence and the roles usually ascribed to thisenzyme. Conventional histochemical techniques for the localizationof acid phosphatase have also been evaluated.