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Mode of Pisatin Induction

Increased Template Activity and Dye-binding Capacity of Chromatin Isolated from Polypeptide-treated Pea Pods ¹

^a Department of Plant Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99163

Increases in phenylalanine ammonia lyase activity and pisatin synthesis were induced in excised pea pods (a) by basic polypeptides such as protamine, histone, lysozyme, cytochrome c, and ribonuclease; (b) by the polyamines spermine, spermidine, cadaverine, and putrescine, and (c) by the synthetic oligopeptides poly-L-lysine, poly-DL-ornithine, and poly-L-arginine.

Poly-L-lysine (1 milligram per milliliter, molecular weight 7,200) was utilized as a model inducer of pisatin and phenylalanine ammonia lyase. The poly-L-lysine-induced responses could be inhibited by adding the RNA synthesis inhibitors cordycepin or -amanitin to the pods prior to or at the time of inducer application. Cordycepin added 1.5 hours after inducer no longer completely inhibited induction. The application of poly-L-lysine was shown to characteristically change the rate of RNA synthesis within 30 minutes. Ultrastructural changes in pea nuclei were detected within 3 hours, and gross changes in nuclear morphology were apparent at 14 hours after inducer application. The physical appearance of uranyl acetate-stained chromatin isolated from poly-L-lysine 2 hours after inducer application differed from that of water-treated tissues. The template properties of chromatin extracted from pods 3 hours after inducer application were consistently superior to control chromatin when assayed with Escherichia coli RNA polymerase (without sigma factor). Chromatin from poly-L-lysine-induced tissue also bound 49% more actinomycin D-³H.

The DNA-complexing properties of inducer compounds and the induced changes in the template and dye-binding properties of pea chromatin formed the basis for a proposed mode of action for phytoalexin induction.

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