Influence de la température et de la durée d'un traitement cryoprotecteur sur la résistance au froid de plantules de blé. Étude ultrastructurale des ébauches foliaires

Abstract

Wheat seedlings were treated at different temperatures and for various periods of time with a cold-protective substance, composed of a mixture of glycerol, dimethylsulfoxide, and saccharose. When the treatment was done at 20 °C, slight ultrastructural changes appeared in leaf primordia as soon as day 1. Thus numbers of lipid globules increased significantly. When the treatment period was increased to 4 days, numbers of starch grains increased, and there was a marked enlargement of mitochondria and plasts. When the treatment was done at 2 °C, cytoplasmic alterations occurred later than at 20 °C. After a 4-day treatment, they were similar to changes induced at 20 °C. When the treatment period was increased to 12 days, dictyosomes were markedly altered. They clustered close to the nucleus in two or three groups and gave rise to numerous pale vesicles with various shapes and sizes. Around each cluster of such vesicles, there gathered many endoplasmic reticulum vesicles and other organelles (mitochondria, plasts, microbodies, vacuoles). A further cooling of 1 °C/min, down to −15 or −30 °C, enhanced these phenomena. After the seedlings were warmed up to 20 °C in distilled water, the changes induced by the frost-protective treatment and then by freezing were shown to be reversible. [Journal translation]