THE ABSORPTION AND TRANSLOCATION OF C14-LABELED PROTEINS IN YOUNG TOMATO PLANTS

The uptake of C¹⁴-labeled proteins (lysozyme, hemoglobin, lactoglobulin, and ovalbumin) from solution by tomato plants with sterile roots was studied. It was found that C¹⁴-compounds (proteins and/or protein-degradation products) were translocated to the foliage if the roots had undergone minor mechanical injury or if the plants were subjected to temporary wilting, i.e., physiological damage. C¹⁴-lysozyme was not transported to foliar tissue in healthy plants; C¹⁴-hemoglobin showed radioactivity in leaves of both healthy and injured plants, but there was evidence of a breakdown of the molecule; C¹⁴-ovalbumin gave a faint labeling of foliar tissues of some plants in which wilting or mechanical damage was below the threshold of detection. It is concluded, however, that translocation of proteins from roots in nutrient solution to tomato leaves does not occur in significant amounts in healthy plants in spite of the large uptake of proteins by root cortex, as found in earlier studies.