Correlation between the age related metabolites and photoinduction in Oryza sativa

Abstract

Twenty-eight-days-old seedlings of a photosensitive winter rice ( Oryza sativa L.), BAM 3, were subjected to 8 hr short photoinductive cycles for varying periods. Quantitative changes in the metabolites of the leaves, the photoreceptive organs, were recorded both in the control and treated seedlings at the ages of 29, 31, 33, 35, 37 and 39 days. Sugar content (total sugar, reducing sugar and sucrose sugar) of the seedlings following short-day induction increased with an increase in the number of photoinductive cycles and simultaneous advancement in the age of the seedlings. Sugar content was at its maximum in 35-day-old seedlings under seven consecutive photoinductive cycles. The control seedlings showed higher sugar content than that of the treated seedlings all through the period of study. The nitrogen content (total nitrogen, soluble nitrogen and protein nitrogen) was much higher in treated seedlings, at each corresponding age, than in the control seedlings. Following the photoinduction the seedlings, advancing in age, showed a gradual increase in nitrogen content, reached the maximum value with 7 photoinductive cycles and thereafter showed a gradual fall with the further increase in the dose of the treatment and the age of the rice seedlings.