Respiration Rate, Mitochondrial Activity and Mitochondrial Structure in the Cotyledons ofPhaseolus vulgarisL. during Germination

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Abstract
Parallel observations have been made on changes in respiration rate, mitochondrial activity, and the fine structure of mitochondria, in the cotyledons of Phaseolus vulgaris germinating at 25° C in the dark. While oxygen uptake of the intact cotyledons rises to a peak between the third and fifth days of germination, mitochondrial activity falls from 36 hours onwards. In most of the storage cells, mitochondrial cristae have become swollen and the matrix has darkened by the third day. The continulng rise in respiration rate beyond 36 hours could be accounted for by the increase in soluble oxidative activity, which occurs while mitochondrial activity is falling. Alternatively, it could be mediated by mitochondria from the vascular bundle cells, where swelling and darkening are delayed till after the fifth day of germination, and where there is proliferation of cristae till the fourth day.

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