Plant and Cell Physiology, 1997, Vol. 38, No. 12 1354-1358
© 1997
Changes in Soluble Sugar, Starch, and Alcohol Dehydrogenase in Arabidopsis thaliana Exposed to N2 Diluted Atmospheres
Department of Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology, Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station Louisiana State University Agricultural Center Baton Rouge, LA 70803, U.S.A.
Proper exchange of atmospheric gases is important for normal root and shoot metabolism in plants. This study was conducted to determine how restricted air supply affects foliar carbohydrates, while using the marker enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) to report on the oxygena-tion status of the rootzone. Fourteen-day-old Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. plants grown singly in 7-ml tubes containing agarified nutrient medium were placed in coupled Magenta vessels and exposed for six days to either ambient air or one of six different air/nitrogen dilutions. Redox potential of the agar medium was measured immediately after harvesting and freezing leaf tissue, and then root systems were quickly extracted from the agar and frozen for subsequent analyses. Redox potential measurements indicated that this series of gas mixtures produced a transition from hypoxia to anoxia in the root zones. Root ADH activity increased at higher rates as the redox potential neared anoxic levels. In contrast, ADH mRNA expression quickly neared its maximum as the medium became hypo-xic and showed little further increase as it became anoxic. Foliar carbohydrate levels increased 1.5- to 2-fold with decreased availability of metabolic gases, with starch increasing at higher concentrations of air than soluble carbohydrate. The results serve as a model for plant performance under microgravity conditions, where absence of convec-tive air movement prevents replenishment of metabolic gases.
(Received May 13, 1997; Accepted October 6, 1997)
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