This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Web of Science (38) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Andrews, C. J. Articles by Pomeroy, M. K. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Andrews, C. J. Articles by Pomeroy, M. K. Agricola Articles by Andrews, C. J. Articles by Pomeroy, M. K.

Articles

Toxicity of Anaerobic Metabolites Accumulating in Winter Wheat Seedlings during Ice Encasement ¹

^a Chemistry and Biology Research Institute, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa K1A 0C6 Canada

Ice encasement damages cold-hardened winter wheat without major disruption of cellular organelles. CO₂ accumulates during total ice encasement to higher levels in Kharkov than in less hardy Fredrick wheat. Partial ice encasement and exposure to a nitrogen atmosphere at -1 C allows greater CO₂ accumulation but neither treatment is as damaging as total ice encasement. Lactic acid accumulates to low levels only during the 1st day of encasement and thereafter remains constant. Exposure of plants to a combination of 50% CO₂ and 5% ethanol reduces survival, with a cultivar difference similar to that found in ice-encased plants. Plants in CO₂ and ethanol show a proliferation of membranes and nuclear condensation similar to that in cells of ice-encased plants. Permeability increases markedly in the presence of CO₂ and ethanol, to levels similar to or greater than those of iced plants. Ethanol alone does not increase permeability but in combination with CO₂ raises permeability of the less hardy Fredrick, although not of Kharkov, but reduces survival of both cultivars. A comparison of the endogenous levels of ethanol, CO₂, and lactic acid at the 50% kill point of plants due to ice encasement or due to externally supplied metabolite indicates that only CO₂ accumulates to independently toxic levels. Permeability and ultrastructural evidence suggest that CO₂ and ethanol in combination are the agents reducing plant viability during ice encasement.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. H. Ellis, E. S. Dennis, and W. James Peacock Arabidopsis Roots and Shoots Have Different Mechanisms for Hypoxic Stress Tolerance Plant Physiology, January 1, 1999; 119(1): 57 - 64. [Abstract] [Full Text]