Abstract
Sinapis alba L., a long-day plant, has been induced to flower either by a single 22-h-long photoperiod or by an 8-h short photoperiod displaced by 10 h in a 24 h cycle. The ehtylenediametetraacetate method previously used for leaf exudation was modified to collect phloem sap at the apical part of the shoot. Carbohydrates in the phloem sap have been analysed comparatively in vegetative and induced plants, using high-performance liquid chromatography and refractometry. Sucrose was the major sugar detected. A dramatic increase of its flux in the apical sap occurred early and transiently during the floral transition in plants induced by both long days and displaced short days. These results indicate a message-like role for sucrose since they fit nicely with previous observations indicating that an early event in the floral transition in S. alba is the accumulation of sucrose in the meristem.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- DSD:
-
displaced short day
- LD:
-
long day
- SD:
-
short day
References
Bodson, M., Outlaw, W.H., Jr. (1985) Elevation in the sucrose content of the shoot apical meristem of Sinapis alba at floral evocation. Plant Physiol. 79, 420–424
Bodson, M., Remacle, B. (1987) Distribution of assimilates from various source-leaves during the floral transition of Sinapis alba L. In: The manipulation of flowering, pp. 341–350, Atherton, J.G., ed. Butterworths, London
Bodson, M., King, R.W., Evans, L.T., Bernier, G. (1977) The role of photosynthesis in flowering of the long-day plant Sinapis alba. Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 4, 467–478
Diomaiuto, J. (1988) Periodic flowering or continual flowering as a function of temperature in a perennial species: the ravenelle wallflower (Cheiranthus cheiri L.). Phytomorphology 38, 163–171
Havelange, A., Bernier, G. (1983) Partial floral evocation by high irradiance in the long-day plant Sinapis alba, Physiol. Plant. 59, 545–550
Houssa, P., Bernier, G., Kinet, J.-M. (1991) Qualitative and quantitative analysis of carbohydrates in leaf exudate of the short-day plant, Xanthium strumarium L. during floral transition. J. Plant Physiol. 138, 24–28
Jones, T.W.A. (1990) Use of a flowering mutant to investigate changes in carbohydrates during floral transition in red clover. J. Exp. Bot. 41, 1013–1019
Kinet, J.-M. (1972) Sinapis alba, a plant requiring a single long day or a single short day for flowering. Nature 236, 406–407
King, R.W., Evans, L.T. (1991) Shoot apex sugars in relation to long-day induction of flowering in Lolium temulentum L. Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 18, 121–135
King, R.W., Zeevaart, J.A.D. (1974) Enhancement of phloem exudation from cut petioles by chelating agents. Plant Physiol. 53, 96–103
Komarova, E.N., Milyaeva, E.L. (1991) Changes in content, distribution of starch in stem apices of bicolored coneflower during the period of flowering evocation. Soviet Plant Physiol. 38, 46–50
Lejeune, P., Kinet, J.-M., Bernier, G. (1988) Cytokinin fluxes during floral induction in the long-day plant Sinapis alba L. Plant Physiol. 86, 1095–1098
Lejeune, P., Bernier, G., Kinet, J.-M. (1991) Sucrose levels in leaf exudate as a function of floral induction in the long day plant Sinapis alba. Plant Physiol. Biochem. 29, 153–157
Madhusudanan, K.N., Nandakumar, S. (1983) Carbohydrate changes in shoot tip, subtending leaves during ontogenetic development of pineapple. Z. Pflanzenphysiol. 110, 429–438
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This work was supported by the Fonds pour la Recherche Fondamentale et Collective (FRFC) of Belgium (Grant n∘ 2.9009.87) and the University of Liège (Action de Recherche Concertée 88/93-29). One of us (P.L.) is grateful to the I.R.S.I.A. for the award of a research fellowship.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lejeune, P., Bernier, G., Requier, MC. et al. Sucrose increase during floral induction in the phloem sap collected at the apical part of the shoot of the long-day plant Sinapis alba L.. Planta 190, 71–74 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00195677
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00195677