Skip Navigation


JXB Advance Access originally published online on November 22, 2004
Journal of Experimental Botany 2005 56(412):537-545; doi:10.1093/jxb/eri032
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrowOA All Versions of this Article:
56/412/537    most recent
eri032v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (1)
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Andriotis, V. M. E.
Right arrow Articles by Ross, J. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Andriotis, V. M. E.
Right arrow Articles by Ross, J. D.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Andriotis, V. M. E.
Right arrow Articles by Ross, J. D.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol. 56, No. 412, © Society for Experimental Biology 2004; all rights reserved

RESEARCH PAPER

Phytic acid mobilization is an early response to chilling of the embryonic axes from dormant oilseed of hazel (Corylus avellana)

Vasilios M. E. Andriotis *, Susan B. Smith and James D. Ross{dagger}

School of Plant Sciences, The University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AS, UK

{dagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. Fax: +44 (0)118 9 314962. E-mail: J.D.Ross{at}reading.ac.uk

Dormancy of hazel (Corylus avellana L.) seeds is alleviated by a chilling treatment during which cytological, hormonal, and biochemical changes occur. Phytic acid and phosphate mobilization have been examined during this treatment. Phytic acid accounted for 0.7% and up to 3.2% of dry weight in axiferous and cotyledonary tissue, respectively. Phytic acid levels in embryonic axes were reduced by 60% within the first 3 weeks of chilling, with little subsequent change, in contrast to warm-imbibed tissue where levels did not change significantly. In cotyledons, phytic acid was mobilized to a lesser extent. Phosphate levels expressed on a fresh weight basis remained almost unaltered suggesting either the operation of a homeostatic mechanism for intracellular concentration or rapid utilization due to active metabolism. Phytase activity increased during stratification in both axiferous and cotyledonary tissue. The initial rise observed was associated with dormancy alleviation, since it occurred before the realization of full germination potential by the seeds and not in warm-imbibed tissue. Protein bodies were isolated from hazel seeds by non-aqueous density gradients. Phytase activity was closely associated with the purified organelles, where phytic acid was located by light microscopy. Overall, these findings suggest that phytic acid mobilization by phytase and previously described processes associated with protein bodies, such as considerable proteolysis, are early participants in the plethora of events leading to seed dormancy relief and germination in hazel.

Key words: Corylus avellana L., dormancy, hazel, phytase, phytic acid, phosphate, protein bodies, seed


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.