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Cell Wall and Protoplast Isoperoxidases in Relation to Injury, Indoleacetic Acid, and Ethylene Effects

¹ Department of Biological Sciences, Union College, Schenectady, New York 12308

In tobacco (Nicotiana Tabacum) pith, sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), and carrot (Daucus carota) storage roots, differences were found between cell wall and protoplast peroxidases in their isoenzyme patterns, activity, and reaction to tissue injury.

In the pith of elongating tobacco internodes, 90% of total activity was associated with the walls, 80% of which was due to the ionically and covalently bound fractions. With senescence, the increase in activity occurred mainly in the protoplast and the free fraction in the walls. The major protoplast isoperoxidases formed the free wall fraction, and the minor ones formed the wall bound fractions. The minor isoperoxidases were the only ones whose activities were affected by cut injury. Neither senescence nor injury caused qualitative changes in the cell isoperoxidase pattern. In the potato root cells, the isoperoxidases were also distinctive in their distribution and in their reactions to injury as well as to ethylene.

In potato and carrot roots, the wall fractions contributed 30 and 95%, respectively, to total peroxidase activity. The injury-induced increase in peroxidase activity occurred mainly in the protoplast of tobacco pith and potato roots and almost entirely in the ionically bound fraction of the walls in carrot roots. Ethylene stimulated peroxidase development in potato roots, especially in the protoplast, but had no effect in either tobacco pith or carrot roots. Ethylene did not affect the inhibiting action of indoleacetic acid on peroxidase activity in tobacco pith, nor did indoleacetic acid significantly affect the stimulating action of ethylene in potato roots.

Actinomycin D inhibited the injury-dependent development of peroxidase in tobacco pith, stimulated the injury- and ethylene-dependent peroxidase development in potato root, and had no effect on peroxidase development in carrot root. Cycloheximide prevented the increase in peroxidase activity in tobacco pith and potato root, but not in the carrot root. Thus, the enhancement of peroxidase activity resulted from either enzyme activation exclusively or from enzyme synthesis. RNA synthesis seems to be only indirectly related to isoperoxidase synthesis caused by injury or ethylene.