Polyamines in discrete regions of barley leaves infected with the powdery mildew fungus, Erysiphe graminis

Abstract

The concentrations of putrescine, spermidine and spermine and the activities of arginine decarboxylase (ADC; EC 4.1.1.19) and ornithine decarboxylase (ODC: EC 4.1.1.17) were determined in discrete regions of barley leaves (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Golden Promise) infected with the powdery mildew fungus (Erysiphe graminis f.sp. hordei Marchal). Polyamine concentrations and the activities of both enzymes were always greatest within the region surrounding the fungal pustule, with the lowest values always being found in the region furthest away from the pustule. Although the concentrations of the three amines and ADC and ODC activities within the fungal pustule were always less than values from the zone surrounding the pustule, these differences were never significant. Polyamine concentrations and ODC activity were not significantly reduced, and ADC activity remained unchanged in mildewed leaves with all surface fungal growth removed. It would appear therefore that not only does most of the increase in amines and ODC activity reside in the leaf itself, but that very little of this increase is due to fungal growth and sporulation. Furthermore, it seems possible that the increase in polyamines in mildewed barley could be involved in ‘green‐island’ formation, where regions around mildew pustules remain green and physiologically active while the rest of the leaf senesces.