Suppression of sugar accumulation in coleoptile and mesocotyl cells by light irradiation to etiolated maize seedlings

Abstract

Sugar accumulation in maize (Zea mays) coleoptile and mesocotyl cells was suppressed when etiolated seedlings were subjected to white light irradiation. Regulation mechanisms of sugar accumulation by light in cells of both organs were studied. Sucrose exudation from the endosperm was suppressed in light-treated seedlings. In addition, the activities and transcript levels of sucrose-phosphate synthase (SPS) in scutella were decreased following light irradiation. These results suggest that sucrose exudation from the endosperm is decreased by the suppression of SPS activities via downregulation of its gene expression. In coleoptiles and mesocotyls, light irradiation also decreased the activities and transcript levels of cell wall-bound invertase, suggesting that phloem unloading processes were suppressed. Thus, inhibition of both sucrose loading from the endosperm and sucrose unloading in coleoptiles and mesocotyls may be involved in the suppression of sugar accumulation in coleoptiles and mesocotyls irradiated with white light.