Accumulation Of Cyclitols Research Articles

A CAM- and starch-deficient mutant of the facultative CAM species Mesembryanthemum crystallinum reconciles sink demands by repartitioning carbon during acclimation to salinity.

In the halophytic species Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, the induction of crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) by salinity requires a substantial investment of resources in storage carbohydrates to provide substrate for nocturnal CO2 uptake. Acclimation to salinity also requires the synthesis and accumulation of cyclitols as compatible solutes, maintenance of root respiration, and nitrate assimilation. This study assessed the hierarchy and coordination of sinks for carbohydrate in leaves and roots during acclimation to salinity in M. crystallinum. By comparing wild type and a CAM-/starch-deficient mutant of this species, it was sought to determine if other metabolic sinks could compensate for a curtailment in CAM and enable acclimation to salinity. Under salinity, CAM deficiency reduced 24 h photosynthetic carbon gain by >50%. Cyclitols were accumulated to comparable levels in leaves and roots of both the wild type and mutant, but represented only 5% of 24 h carbon balance. Dark respiration of leaves and roots was a stronger sink for carbohydrate in the mutant compared with the wild type and implied higher maintenance costs for the metabolic processes underpinning acclimation to salinity when CAM was curtailed. CAM required the nocturnal mobilization of >70% of primary carbohydrate in the wild type and >85% of carbohydrate in the mutant. The substantial allocation of carbohydrate to CAM limited the export of sugars to roots, and the root:shoot ratio declined under salinity. The data suggest a key role for the vacuole in regulating the supply and demand for carbohydrate over the day/night cycle in the starch-/CAM-deficient mutant.

Different effects of soil drought on soluble carbohydrates of developing Lupinus pilosus and Lupinus luteus embryos

The aim of this study was to compare the accumulation of soluble carbohydrates in embryos of two lupin species: cultivated <em>Lupinus luteus</em> (cv. Juno) and wild <em>L. pilosus</em>, developing on plants grown under normal soil humidity and soil drought. All analysed seeds accumulated soluble carbohydrates, including: monosaccharides, sucrose, cyclitols, galactosyl cyclitols and raffinose family oligosaccharides. Soil drought caused a nearly two-fold increase of soluble carbohydrate contents in both species. <em>L. pilosus</em> embryos however, responded to water deficiency by increasing the accumulation of cyclitols and galactosyl cyclitols, whereas <em>L. luteus</em> embryos enhanced accumulation of cyclitols and raffinose family oligosaccharides.

Cyclitols in maturing grains of wheat, triticale and barley

In the present study, the feeding of stem-flag leaf-ear explants of wheat, triticale and barley with d-chiro-inositol and d-pinitol was used for modification of the composition of soluble carbohydrates in grains without genetic transformation of plants. Maturing grains indicated ability to uptake exogenously applied cyclitols, not occurring naturally in cereal plants, and synthesized their a-d-galactosides. The pattern of changes in soluble carbohydrates during grain maturation and germination was not disturbed by the uptake and accumulation of cyclitols. Both, d-chiro-inositol and d-pinitol as well as their a-d-galactosides can be an additional pool of soluble carbohydrates accumulated by maturing grains, without decreasing seeds viability. This is the first report indicating the possibility of introduction of cyclitols with potentially human health benefits properties into cereal grains.

Cyclitols protect glutamine synthetase and malate dehydrogenase against heat induced deactivation and thermal denaturation

The accumulation of cyclitols in plants is a widespread response that provides protection against various environmental stresses. The capacity of myo-Inositol, pinitol, quercitol, and other compatible solutes (i.e., sorbitol, proline, and glycinebetaine) to protect proteins against thermally induced denaturation and deactivation was examined. Enzymatic activity measurements of l-glutamine synthetase from Escherichia coli and Hordeum vulgare showed that the presence of cyclitols during heat treatment resulted in a significantly higher percentage of residual activity. CD spectroscopy experiments were used to study thermal stabilities of protein secondary structures upon the addition of myo-Inositol, pinitol, and glucose. 0.4 M myo-Inositol was observed to raise the melting temperature ( T m) of GS from E. coli by 3.9 °C and MDH from pig heart by 3.4 °C, respectively. Pinitol showed an increase in T m of MDH by 3.8 °C, whereas glucose was not effective. Our results show a great potential of stabilizing proteins by the addition of cyclitols.