When washed at moderate temperatures, slices of many underground storage organs show a steady rise in their rate of respiration until it reaches a value two to five times that of freshly cut tissue. Laties (3) has recently reviewed our knowledge of these changes in respiration. In accordance with his suggestion, the respiration which develops gradually on washing will be referred to as induced ...

Kinetics of polysome formation, translational capacity, and coding properties of polysome-associated messenger RNA were investigated in potato tuber tissue discs during aging. Polysome content rapidly increased immediately after slicing from 14% of total ribosomes in freshly sliced discs to 55% within 12 hours of aging. The amount of polysomal RNA also increased 5-fold during this period. Trans...

Potato tuber (Solanum tuberosum) mitochondria (PTM) have a mitochondrially bound hexokinase (HK) activity that exhibits a pronounced sensitivity to ADP inhibition. Here we investigated the role of mitochondrial HK activity in PTM reactive oxygen species generation. Mitochondrial HK has a 10-fold higher affinity for glucose (Glc) than for fructose (KMGlc=140 microM versus KMFrc=1,375 microM). Ac...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Acidification of the cytoplasm is a commonly observed response to oxygen deprivation in plant tissues that are intolerant of anoxia. The response was monitored in plant tissues with altered levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) with the aim of assessing the contribution of the targeted enzymes to cytoplasmic pH (pH(cyt)) regulation. METHODS...

The polymeric material (suberin) of the wound periderm of potato tuber slices was analyzed after depolymerization with LiAIH(4) in tetrahydrofuran or BF(3) in methanol with the use of thin layer chromatography, chemical modification, and combined gas-liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Fatty acids (C(16) to C(26)), fatty alcohols (C(16) to C(26)), octadec-9-ene-1, 18-dioic acid, and 18...

Aging of slices of potato tuber (Solanum tuberosum L.) in an aerated liquid medium induces a number of changes in mitochondrial activities. A nonphosphorylative, cyanide-insensitive electron transport pathway (alternate pathway) is brought into operation. The rate of oxidation of exogenous NADH increases markedly and the efficiency of phosphorylation with this substrate remains the same as it i...

Timing of protein synthesis which is a prerequisite to DNA synthesis induced in potato tuber tissue (Solanum tuberosum L.) by cut injury has been studied using cycloheximide. The induction of DNA synthesis which was measured by incorporation of (3)H-thymidine was completely inhibited when the inhibitor was applied to the tuber discs immediately after slicing. When the application of cycloheximi...

The nutrient and anti nutrient composition of some standardized sweet potato dishes in Kwara state was determined using official methods of analysis. The indigenous sweet potato dishes analysed included pounded sweet potato/yam; sweet potato leaf soup; boiled sweet potato; fried sweet potatoes and sweet potato/ beans pottage. There were significant differences (p < 0.05) for moisture content wh...

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the antibacterial properties of a plant secondary metabolite - caffeine. Caffeine is present in over 100 plant species. Antibacterial activity of caffeine was examined against the following plant-pathogenic bacteria: Ralstonia solanacearum (Rsol), Clavibacter michiganesis subsp. sepedonicus (Cms), Dickeya solani (Dsol), Pectobacterium atrosepti...

Survival and fecundity of Colorado potato beetle adults, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), that had or had not fed previously on non-transgenic potato before exposure to transgenic potato containing the Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. tenebrionis Cry3A toxin (Bt) was investigated. In the laboratory, < 5% of first-generation adults survived after two weeks when restricted to Bt foliage since eclosi...