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 CrossRef Citing Articles via Web of Science (65) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Saunders, J. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Saunders, J. A. Agricola Articles by Saunders, J. A.

Articles

Investigations of Vacuoles Isolated from Tobacco

I. Quantitation of Nicotine

Tobacco Laboratory, Plant Genetics and Germplasm Institute, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland 20705

Nicotine was shown to be associated with mature vacuoles isolated from protoplasts of Nicotiana rustica. The vacuolar preparations also contained high levels of acid phosphatase, ATPase, and approximately 30% of the soluble protoplastic protein. The contamination of the vacuolar isolate by chlorophyll, succinate dehydrogenase, and NADPH cytochrome c reductase (markers for chloroplasts, mitochondria, and endoplasmic reticulum) was low. The enzymic activity associated with the vacuoles was not due to the exogenously supplied digestive enzymes used in the preparation of the protoplast. The relatively easy isolation of tobacco vacuoles makes this an excellent system for biochemical investigations of the vacuole.