Cotyledons Of Cucumber Seedlings Research Articles

The role of light in the inducation of nitrate reductase and nitrite reductase in cucumber seedlings

The activity of nitrate reductase (NR) and nitrite reductase (NiR) was investigated in vivo and in vitro in the roots and NR activity in 3-day-old cotyledons of cucumber seedlings. NR activity in the roots appears almost immediately after addition of nitrate ions to the induction medium, whereas, in the cotyledones NR induction is delayed. In general light enhances NR activity in the cotyledons and depresses it in the roots in experiments of short duration. Etiolation of the cotyledons reduces NR activity in the roots and leads to disappearance of the activity of this enzyme in the cotyledons, whereas the NR activity of roots kept in darkness, after transfer of the etiolated plants to light, increases threefold. In roots growing in darkness a delay in NiR induction is observed, while in those growing in ligth it occurs at the same time as NR induction. Chlormaphenicol (CAP), cycloheximide (CHI) and actinomycin D (ACM) applied at the beginning of the period of seedling induction with initrates inhibit NR activity in the cotyledons, whereas in the roots only CHI and ACM exert such an effect. To sum up, NR is synthesized in cucumber roots and cotyledons de novo on the cytoplasmic polyribosomes, and light per se is not indispensable for this synthesis, but it has an indirect influence on the activity level of NR and NiR both in the roots and the cotyledons.

Salicylic acid induces stomatal closure by modulating endogenous hormone levels in cucumber cotyledons

Salicylic acid (SA) is one of the most important signaling molecules in plant growth and defense responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Here, the effect of exogenous SA on the stomatal movements was investigated in cotyledons of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) seedlings. Application of different SA concentrations could induce the reduction in stomatal aperture and conductance, especially at a concentration of 0.5 mM. Using the isolated epidermal strips, stomata were found to close notably in response to exogenous SA, even at a concentration as low as 0.001 mM. Further study showed that a SA-induced decrease in the stomatal aperture was intensified by the higher SA concentrations, longer exposure, and lower pH of the medium. In addition, to understand the relationship between stomatal closure and endogenous hormone contents, the levels of ABA, IAA, and gibberellin (GA3) were assayed under SA treatment. SA significantly increased endogenous ABA but not IAA and GA3 content. A significant negative correlation (p ≤ 0.01) was observed between stomatal conductance and the ratio of ABA to (GA3 + IAA) during SA application. It was suggested that exogenous SA could change the balance of endogenous hormones and thereby induce stomatal closure in cotyledons of cucumber seedlings.

Purification, and phosphorylation in vivo and in vitro, of phospho enolpyruvate carboxykinase from cucumber cotyledons

Phospho enolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) with a subunit molecular mass of 74 kDa has been purified 450-fold to homogeneity from the cotyledons of cucumber ( Cucumis sativus L.). This is the first purification of the native form of the enzyme from any plant tissue. Incubation of the purified enzyme with [γ- 32P]ATP and either phospho enolpyruvate-carboxylase kinase or mammalian cAMP-dependent protein kinase led to labelling of the enzyme in a part of the molecule separate from the active site. This was reversed by incubation with protein phosphatase 2A. Cotyledons of cucumber seedlings were also supplied with 32P i. Homogenates of such cotyledons contained a heavily labelled polypeptide which was confirmed as PEPCK by immunoprecipitation. Labelling of PEPCK by 32P i in darkened cotyledons was reversed by illumination.

Nitrate reductase in cotyledons of cucumber seedlings as affected by nitrate, phytochrome and calcium

Nitrate reductase in cotyledons of cucumber seedlings as affected by nitrate, phytochrome and calcium

Induction of Malate Synthase Gene Expression in Senescent and Detached Organs of Cucumber.

Expression of the malate synthase (MS) gene is activated in cotyledons of cucumber seedlings during postgerminative growth and then repressed as the cotyledons become photosynthetic. MS gene expression is subsequently reactivated in the cotyledons as they senesce a few weeks later. In situ hybridization revealed that MS RNA is distributed throughout the organ during postgerminative growth and senescence, showing that the same cells express the gene at different stages of development. MS RNA also appears in senescing leaves and petals of cucumber plants. In addition, we found that MS RNA appears in mature expanded leaves and roots when they are removed from the plant and incubated in darkness for several days, thus providing a potential experimental system for the manipulation of MS gene expression. Leaves from transgenic Nicotiana plumbaginifolia containing the cucumber MS promoter fused to the [beta]-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene accumulated GUS activity when detached, demonstrating an activation of transcription from the MS promoter following leaf excision. These results are discussed in terms of the metabolic regulation of MS gene expression.

Developmental changes in lipoxygenase activity in cotyledons of cucumber seedlings

Dry cucumber seeds have no lipoxygenase activity, but the activity in the cotyledons from light-grown seedlings increased rapidly from 3 days after germination, peaking at days 4–6 and declined significantly thereafter. The activity in the cotyledons from dark-grown seedlings increased in the same manner as observed in the light, but the enhanced activity persisted for a longer time. Transfer experiments showed that whether the cotyledons had been illuminated or not till day 6 lipoxygenase activity in the cotyledons degraded rapidly in the light concomitant with greening while it remained at the higher levels in the dark. Immunoblot analyses using antilipoxygenase serum indicate that the increase and decrease of lipoxygenase activity are mostly due to changes in the amount of lipoxygenase protein. The activity in the cotyledons from which the embryonic axis and the testa had been removed increased more rapidly than that in the cotyledons that had developed on the seedlings. Especially in the dark, lipoxygenase activity in the excised cotyledons increased by as much as 3.6-fold compared with the highest value observed with the intact cotyledons. Furthermore, detachment of the cotyledons from hypocotyl and roots at day 4 enhanced lipoxygenase activity. The enhancement was again marked in the dark.

Transformation of Cucumis sativus tissue by Agrobacterium tumefaciens and the regeneration of transformed plants

Cotyledons of cucumber seedlings (Cucumis sativus L. cv. Poinsett 76) were co-cultivated with disarmed Agrobacterium strain C58Z707. The Agrobacterium strain contained the Agrobacterium-derived binary vector plasmid pGA482, its T-DNA region contains a plant expressible bacterial derived neomycin phosphotransferase II (NPT II) gene which upon transfer, genome integration, and expression in plant tissues confers resistance to the antibiotic kanamycin. After growth of inoculated cotyledon sections on selective medium containing 100 mg/l kanamycin, transformed embryogenic calli were obtained followed by the development of embryos and plant regeneration. Transformed R0 and R1 cucumber plants appeared normal and tested positive for NPT II enzyme activity. Genomic DNAs isolated from the NPT II positive plants all showed hybridization to the characteristic 2.0 kb (BamHI to HindIII) NPT II gene-containing fragment. These results show that the Agrobscterium-mediated gene transfer system and regeneration via somatic embryogenesis is an effective method for the transfer of genetic material into plant species belonging to the family Cucurbitaceae.

Notes: Separation of 13-and 9-Hydroperoxide Lyase Activities in Cotyledons of Cucumber Seedlings

Abstract In cucumber cotyledons, both C6 - and C9- aldehyde were formed via hydroperoxide (HPO) lyase activity. Because it has not been elucidated whether these activities are attributed to one enzyme which can cleave both 13-and 9-HPO or to two or more enzymes each of which specifically cleaves 13-or 9-HPO , an attempt to separate HPO lyase activity was done. Ion exchange chromatography separated this activity into two fractions, one of which specifically cleaved 13-hydroperoxylinoleic acid and the other specifically cleaved the 9-isomer. 13-HPO-specific activity was most active at pH 8.0 and 9-HPO-specific one was at pH 6.5. SH -reagents inhibited both the lyases but to different extents.

Wavelength Effect on the Action of a N-Phenylimide S-23142 and a Diphenylether Acifluorfen-Ethyl in Cotyledons of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) Seedlings

Specific wavelengths of light required for expression of phytotoxic activity of S-23142 (N-[4-chloro-2-fluoro-5-propargyloxy]phenyl-3,4,5,6-tetra- hydrophthalimide) and acifluorfen-ethyl (ethyl-5-[2-chloro-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenoxy]-2-nitro benzoic acid) were determined in cotyledons of cucumber seedlings using the Okazaki Large Spectrograph. Leakage of amino acids from the cotyledons was measured as an indication of the phytotoxic activity. The wavelength effects showed common major peaks of activity at 550 and 650 nanometers and a minor peak at 450 nanometers for both herbicides, indicating a common primary photoreaction. Concomitant application of DCMU (3-[3,4-dichlorophenyl]-1,1-dimethylurea) with S-23142 had little influence on the effective wavelengths for S-23142 activity. Light of 450 and 650 nanometers was relatively less effective in achlorophyllous tissue grown in far red light than in green tissue. These results strongly suggest that the phytotoxic action of S-23142 and diphenylethers involves multiple photoreactions and that one of the photoreceptor pigments may be chlorophyll or its related pigment, although photosynthesis is not involved.

Light-stimulated accumulation of the peroxisomal enzymes hydroxypyruvate reductase and serine:glyoxylate aminotransferase and their translatable mRNAs in cotyledons of cucumber seedlings

The development of peroxisomal enzymes in cotyledons of cucumber seedlings is strongly dependent on light. In light-grown seedlings, activities of two peroxisomal enzymes, hydroxypyruvate reductase (HPR) and serine: glyoxylate aminotransferase (SGAT), were barely detectable until three days postimbibition, after which time both activities increased rapidly and linearly for at least three days. In the dark, the activities of these enzymes increased slightly over the same time period, but only to about 5% to 10% of 7-day light-induced levels. When 51/2-day dark-grown seedlings were transferred into white light, activities of HPR and SGAT began to increase after approximately 8 h. HPR protein was shown by an immunoprecipitation assay to increase concurrently with enzymatic activity in both light- and dark-grown cotyledons. Immunoblotting results suggested that the amounts of SGAT-A and SGAT-B, the two subunits of SGAT, also developed along with SGAT activity. The relative levels of translatable mRNAs encoding HPR, SGAT-A, and SGAT-B were also light-dependent, and increased with a developmental pattern similar to enzyme activity and protein levels in light- and dark-grown cotyledons. In 51/2-day dark-grown cotyledons that were transferred to the light, translatable mRNAs for SGAT-A and SGAT-B began to increase within 1 h of illumination and continued of increase rapidly and linearly for the next 24 h in the light to a new steady-state level that was 45 times that of dark controls. Translatable HPR mRNA exhibited a biphasic pattern of accumulation, with a three-fold increase during the first 6 h of illumination, followed by an additional six-fold increase between 8 and 24 h. The accumulation of translationally active mRNA for both enzymes preceded the accumulation of the corresponding protein and enzyme activity by about 8 h. Our data suggest that the rise in enzyme activity depends on an increase in translatable mRNA for these enzymes and is regulated at a pretranslational level, most likely involving transcription of new mRNA.

A double enhancement of greening in the cotyledons of cucumber seedlings by excision and red light

Cotyledons excised without the hypocotyl hook from 6‐day‐old etiolated cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. var. Elem) seedlings accumulated a significantly higher amount of chlorophyll than cotyledons excised with hooks or intact cotyledons. It was found that maximum ehancement of greening was achieved after 2 h of dark incubation following excision. Pretreatments with red light effected an additive rise in chlorophyll level in subsequent white light after a dark incubation, suggesting that the effects of excision and phytochrome on greening act independently. Etiolated seedlings were variously dissected before greening and it was found that enhancement occurred only when cotyledons were excised at the level of the hypocotyl hook or above it. Similar results were obtained when the dissected plants were pre‐treated with red light.

Plant microbody proteins. Purification and glycoprotein nature of glyoxysomal isocitrate lyase from cucumber cotyledons.

1. Isocitrate lyase from cotyledons of cucumber seedlings (Cucumis sativus) has been purified 100-fold. Two methods of preparing the soluble glyoxylate cycle enzyme are described: an elaborated method which used crude extracts of cucumber cotyledons, and another procedure which started with purified glyoxysomes from 4-day-old cotyledons and included a separation of glyoxysomal matrix enzymes by zonal centrifugation. The product behaved as a single species when tested by (a) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of dodecyl sulfate, (b) zonal centrifugation, and (c) double immunodiffusion against rabbit antibody to isocitrate lyase. 2. Isocitrate lyase of cucumber glyoxysomes exhibited a molecular weight of 255,000 and was composed of four apparently identical subunits of Mr 64,000. An isoelectric point of 5.9 was determined. 3. It was shown that isocitrate lyase is a glycoprotein, (a) by Schiff stain on polyacrylamide gels, (b) by periodate oxidation of the enzyme, subsequent reduction with NaB[3H]4 and electrophoretic analysis of the labelled glycoprotein, and (c) by incorporation of [3H]glucosamine in vivo into a protein which could be precipitated with antibodies to isocitrate lyase and revealed a 64,000-Mr band upon electrophoresis.

Subcellular Localization and Developmental Changes of Aspartate-α-Ketoglutarate Transaminase Isozymes in the Cotyledons of Cucumber Seedlings

The total activity of aspartate-alpha-ketoglutarate transaminase in the cotyledons of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) seeds increased 17-fold during the first 2 days of germination in darkness and then declined gradually to 20% of the peak activity after 10 days. Exposure of the seedlings to light at day 3 accelerated the decline. The enzyme in the cotyledon extracts from seedlings at various ages was resolved into six distinct isozymes by starch gel electrophoresis. Isozymes 1 and 2 were glyoxysomal isozymes with different developmental patterns. Isozyme 1 followed the developmental pattern of the total enzyme activity in darkness, and was rapidly eliminated upon illumination. Isozyme 2 increased in activity to a peak at day 2 and declined rapidly thereafter, and disappeared completely at day 6; this developmental pattern was independent of light. No major difference in the optimal pH for activity, substrate specificity, and reversibility was observed between isozymes 1 and 2. The combined developmental pattern of isozymes 1 and 2 during germination correlated with that of the glyoxysomes. Isozyme 3 was located in the cytosol and its developmental pattern followed that of the total activity. Isozymes 4,5, and 6 were plastid isozymes and appeared only after 2 days of germination. Unlike many other chloroplast enzymes, the appearance of the chloroplast transaminase isozymes was under temporal control and was independent of illumination. No enzyme activity was detected in isolated mitochondria. The findings illustrate a complicated cellular control system for the appearance of various organelle-specific transaminase isozymes and thus the amino acid metabolism during germination.

The role of light in the inducation of nitrate reductase and nitrite reductase in cucumber seedlings

The activity of nitrate reductase (NR) and nitrite reductase (NiR) was investigated in vivo and in vitro in the roots and NR activity in 3-day-old cotyledons of cucumber seedlings. NR activity in the roots appears almost immediately after addition of nitrate ions to the induction medium, whereas, in the cotyledones NR induction is delayed. In general light enhances NR activity in the cotyledons and depresses it in the roots in experiments of short duration. Etiolation of the cotyledons reduces NR activity in the roots and leads to disappearance of the activity of this enzyme in the cotyledons, whereas the NR activity of roots kept in darkness, after transfer of the etiolated plants to light, increases threefold. In roots growing in darkness a delay in NiR induction is observed, while in those growing in ligth it occurs at the same time as NR induction. Chlormaphenicol (CAP), cycloheximide (CHI) and actinomycin D (ACM) applied at the beginning of the period of seedling induction with initrates inhibit NR activity in the cotyledons, whereas in the roots only CHI and ACM exert such an effect. To sum up, NR is synthesized in cucumber roots and cotyledons de novo on the cytoplasmic polyribosomes, and light per se is not indispensable for this synthesis, but it has an indirect influence on the activity level of NR and NiR both in the roots and the cotyledons.