Lateral Transport of Ions into the Xylem of Corn Roots

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Abstract
When an excised corn (Zea mays) root pretreated with chloride was exposed for 10 minutes to pulse labeling with 30Cl and then transferred to unlabeled chloride, the activity in the xylem exudate reached a maximum about 4 minutes after pulse labeling was discontinued and then declined sharply. The rate at which labeled chloride was transported across the root into the xylem and basipetally therein was on the order of 75 to 250 centimeters per hour. Consequently, symplasmic movement of chloride in corn roots is fast and may not be rate-limiting in transfer from the root surface to the xylem. Experiments on pulse labeling with 22Na gave similar results. A large fraction of the absorbed 22Na was not translocated into the exudate but was tightly sequestered in a cell compartment, probably the vacuole.