Association of polyamines to different parts of various plant species

Abstract

The variation in polyamine content in different plant species and in different parts within a plant can be considerable. To get general information about levels of polyamines in plants and about the association of polyamines to different types of tissue, 30 plants from 13 plant families were examined for their polyamine content before and after germination using high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. A marked increase in polyamine content occurs in the cotyledons or endosperms in the seeds on germination, i.e. in the nutrient storing and exporting part of the plant. In the radicle, hypocotyl or coleoptile, i.e. growing parts of the plant, an increase in polyamine content is rarely observed. Additionally, polyamine levels can be very low [below 1 nmol (g fresh weight)‐1] in different parts of various species. Obviously, levels in the pmol (g fresh weight)‐1 range satisfy the needs of many growing plant parts. The high levels of polyamines found especially in cotyledons cannot be explained by their postulated association with increased cell division rates.