STUDIES ON WHEAT PLANTS USING C14 COMPOUNDS: V. GERMINATION STUDIES WITH LABELLED WHEAT SEEDS

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Abstract
Radioactive wheat seeds, obtained by injecting acetate-C14 into the stems of the parent plants, were germinated in the absence of light and nutrient and the fate of the carbon-14 was observed. Carbon respired as carbon dioxide had a higher specific activity than any of the major seed components except protein. Variations were found in the patterns by which material was transferred from the kernel to new tissue as reflected in a comparison of the activity of various components. Glutamic acid was the most active compound isolated either from the original seeds or from the new tissues. This observation, together with similarities noted in the intramolecular distribution of carbon-14 in glutamic acid of new tissue and seed residues, indicated that glutamic acid was reutilized for the biosynthesis of seedling protein. Changes in the labelling of glutamic acid during transfer to new tissue are qualitatively in accord with the idea that at least some of the amino acid is used after re-entry into the tricarboxylic acid cycle.

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