Effects of Canavanine on Arginine Utilization in Plants with Special Reference to Mitotic Activity

Weaks, T. E.

doi:10.1111/j.1399-3054.1974.tb03119.x

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…excised Phaseolus vulgaris roots, Weaks (27) found that canavanine markedly depressed arginine utilization in rapidly growing tissues. Canavanine was observed to reduce initiation of mitosis and to affect subsequent mitotic events (27).…”

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Studies on the Growth Effects of the Canaline-Urea Cycle Amino Acids with Lemna minor L.

Rosenthal

Gulati²,

Sabharwal³

1975

Plant Physiol.

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The aquatic microphyte, Lemna minor L, was udtlized to assess the relative toxicity and general growth effects of canavanine, canaline, ureidohomoserine (UHS), and canavaninosuccinate (CSA). These amino acids are constituents of the canaline-urea cycle and structural analogues of the ornithine-urea cycle amino acids.Comparative growth studies with L. minor revealed that the canaline-urea cycle amino acids are potent antimetabolites. With the exception of CSA, they are extremely toxic at a concentration of S pum. Over a concentration range of 1 to 4 /M, canavanine is the most growth-inhibiting of the canalineurea cycle amino acids. At or above 5 FM, canavanine and canaline possess comparable toxicity. UHS is less growthinhibiting than canavanine or canaline, and CSA is the least toxic of the canaline-urea cycle intermediates.excised Phaseolus vulgaris roots, Weaks (27) found that canavanine markedly depressed arginine utilization in rapidly growing tissues. Canavanine was observed to reduce initiation of mitosis and to affect subsequent mitotic events (27).Investigations of the effect of the remaining canaline-urea cycle compounds on higher plant growth have not been conducted, and data on the comparative toxicity of the canalineurea cycle amino acids in higher plants are not available. These important deficiencies, coupled with the availability of all the structural analogues of the ornithine-urea cycle compounds, prompted our assessment of the general growth effects of the canaline-urea cycle amino acids on higher plants, utilizing the aquatic microphyte, Lemna minor L. Lemna is especially suitable for these studies because it can be grown in a defined medium, multiplies vegetatively thereby providing a clone of genetically identical plants, possesses a rapid growth rate, and has a convenient size while lending itself to whole plant studies (2). Experiments on the interaction of certain canaline-urea cycle amino acids and their corresponding ornithine-urea cycle compound, as expressed by the growth of L. minor, are also reported.Canavanine is an important nitrogen reserve metabolite of many leguminous seeds (3,17,24). Experiments conducted with jack bean, Canavalia ensiformis (L.) DC., revealed that canavanine is synthesized in a reaction sequence analogous to the ornithine-urea cycle (14). This reaction sequence is termed the canaline-urea cycle.Procedures have recently been developed for the large scale production of the racemically pure L-enantiomorph of the canaline-urea cycle amino acids (15,16,18). This achievement makes this unusual group of related antimetabolites available for study for the first time.The deleterious effects of canavanine on higher plant growth was first reported by Bonner (4) MATERIAIS AND METHODSThe Lemna cultures were grown in 50 ml of sterile Hillman M medium (6), adjusted to pH 4.8 with NaOH, in 125-ml Erlenmeyer flasks. These cultures were maintained at 25 + 0.5 C under continuous illumination consisting of incandescent and cool white fluorescent light (1,700 ft-c) in...

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confidence: 99%

“…Canavanine was observed to reduce initiation of mitosis and to affect subsequent mitotic events (27).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%