Studies on the effect of certain enzymic poisons on the metabolism of storage organs III. Uptake and utilization of sucrose by radish root slices in presence of iodoacetate

Iodoacetate greatly retarded the uptake of sucrose and slightlyaffected its inversion by radish root slices. Carbohydrate content of the samples decreased substantiallyboth in water and in iodoacetate. Feeding with sucrose led tomarked accumulation of carbohydrates and supplemental additionof iodoacetate induced less accumulation of carbohydrates. Iodoacetate caused exudation of nitrogen fractions into theculture media. Protein synthesis via amino acids seems to beoperative in iodoacetate treated slices. It is also suggestedthat nitrate-N, in presence of sucrose, is converted into peptidesand proteins. Addition of iodoacetate to sucrose media inhibitedthis pathway of protein synthesis. Both sucrose and iodoacetate (4 x 10^–4M) stimulated theCO₂ output whereas 25 x 10^–4M iodoacetate did not changethe CO₂ output when compared with that of controls. Sucroseand iodoacetate (4 x 10^–4 M) when joined together maskedthe accelerating effect of each other. ¹Present address: Department of Botany, Faculty of Science,University of A'in Shams, Abbassia, Cairo, Egypt, U. A. R. (Received November 6, 1968; )