Delayed cotyledon senescence following treatment with a cytokinin; an effect at the level of membranes

Abstract

Application of 10−4 M benzyladenine to Phaseolus vulgaris germinated under etiolating conditions markedly delayed the onset of cotyledon senescence. Weight loss was curtailed, hydrolysis of starch and protein reserves was delayed, and the rate at which hydrolysis products were translocated out of the cotyledons was reduced in treated plants. Microsomal membranes of cotyledons from control seedlings acquired increasing proportions of gel phase lipid as senescence of the tissue intensified. The resulting mixture of liquid-crystalline and gel phase lipid within the membrane matrix renders the membranes leaky and may partially contribute to metabolite translocation out of the cotyledon storage cells during seedling development. This prospect is supported by the observation that in benzyladenine-treated plants the onset of gel phase lipid, and hence of membrane leakiness, was delayed in a manner that corresponded temporally with the decreased rate of metabolite translocation out of the cotyledons.