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Articles

Effects of O₂ Concentration on Rice Seedlings ¹

Biology Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95060

The ability of rice, wheat, and oat seedlings to germinate and grow as the O₂ concentration was lowered to zero was compared. The germination of rice was completely unaffected by O₂ supply, whereas that of oats and wheat was strongly retarded at levels below 5% O₂. In contrast to the coleoptiles of oats and wheat and to roots of all three species where growth was progressively diminished as the O₂ concentration was lowered, that of the rice coleoptile was progressively increased. However, the dry weight and content of protein, sugars, and cellulose were all depressed in the rice coleoptile in anoxia, and the levels of several respiratory enzymes, particularly those of mitochondria, were also much lower than those of the coleoptiles grown in air. In 1% O₂, the growth of the rice coleoptile was similar to that in air. The effect of ethanol concentration on germination and growth of rice was measured. Coleoptile growth was reduced when the ethanol concentration exceeded 40 millimolarity, and root growth was somewhat more sensitive. Coleoptiles of all three species grown in air were transferred to N₂, and ethanol accumulation was measured over 24 hours. The rate of ethanol accumulation in oats was close to that in rice, and in all three species the amounts of ethanol lost to the surrounding medium were those expected from simple diffusion from the tissue. The ability of the rice coleoptile to grow in anoxia is apparently not due to a particularly low rate of ethanol formation or to unusual ethanol tolerance. Any explanation of the success of rice in anoxia must encompass the much lower rate of ATP synthesis than that in air and account for the biochemical deficiencies of the coleoptile.

¹ Supported by Department of Energy Contract EY 76-S-03-0034 and North Atlantic Treaty Organization Research Grant No. 006-81.

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