Effects of Hydroxyproline and other Amino Acid Analogues on the Growth of Pea Root Segments

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Abstract
Changes in the lengths and growth rates of isolated 2–4 mm pea root segments, cultured in sucrose media under aseptic conditions, were paralleled by changes in invertase development and in chloride and leucine uptakes. The amino acid analogues o‐, m‐ and p‐fluorophenylalanine, azetidine‐2‐carboxylic acid and ethionine inhibited growth with corresponding changes in invertase activity and in chloride and leucine uptakes. In contrast hydroxyproline, which under the conditions used may be regarded as an analogue of proline, enhanced both the growth rate and duration of growth but had little effect on the several parameters of protein synthesis which were measured. No amino acid tested affected changes in growth, invertase activity or the uptake of chloride and leucine, but they prevented the effects of the corresponding analogues. The results show that although extension growth is dependent on continuous protein synthesis, only specific proteins, probably in the cell wall, play a key role in this process.