Starch and its component ratio in developing cotton leaves

Amylose in starch: towards an understanding of biosynthesis, structure and function

Starch granules are composed of two distinct glucose polymers - amylose and amylopectin. Amylose constitutes 5-35% of most natural starches and has a major influence over starch properties in foods. Its synthesis and storage occurs within the semicrystalline amylopectin matrix of starch granules, this poses a great challenge for biochemical and structural analyses. However, the last two decades have seen vast progress in understanding amylose synthesis, including new insights into the action of GRANULE BOUND STARCH SYNTHASE (GBSS), the major glucosyltransferase that synthesises amylose, and the discovery of PROTEIN TARGETING TO STARCH1 (PTST1) that targets GBSS to starch granules. Advances in analytical techniques have resolved the fine structure of amylose, raising new questions on how structure is determined during biosynthesis. Furthermore, the discovery of wild plants that do not produce amylose revives a long-standing question of why starch granules contain amylose, rather than amylopectin alone. Overall, these findings contribute towards a full understanding of amylose biosynthesis, structure and function that will be essential for future approaches to improve starch quality in crops.

Heterogeneous Light Conditions Reduce the Assimilate Translocation Towards Maize Ears

The border row crop in strip intercropped maize is often exposed to heterogeneous light conditions, resulting in increased photosynthesis and yield decreased. Previous studies have focused on photosynthetic productivity, whereas carbon allocation could also be one of the major causes of decreased yield. However, carbon distribution remains unclear in partially shaded conditions. In the present study, we applied heterogeneous light conditions (T), and one side of plants was shaded (T-30%), keeping the other side fully exposed to light (T-100%), as compared to control plants that were exposed entirely to full-light (CK). Dry weight, carbon assimilation, ¹³C abundance, and transport tissue structure were analyzed to clarify the carbon distribution in partial shading of plants. T caused a marked decline in dry weight and harvest index (HI), whereas dry weight in unshaded and shaded leaves did not differ. Net photosynthesis rate (Pn), the activity of sucrose phosphate synthase enzymes (SPS), and sucrose concentration increased in unshaded leaves. Appropriately, 5.7% of the ¹³C from unshaded leaves was transferred to shaded leaves. Furthermore, plasmodesma density in the unshaded (T-100%) and shaded (T-30%) leaves in T was not significantly different but was lower than that of CK. Similarly, the vascular bundle total area of T was decreased. ¹³C transfer from unshaded leaves to ear in T was decreased by 18.0% compared with that in CK. Moreover, ¹³C and sucrose concentration of stem in T were higher than those in CK. Our results suggested that, under heterogeneous light, shaded leaves as a sink imported the carbohydrates from the unshaded leaves. Ear and shaded leaf competed for carbohydrates, and were not conducive to tissue structure of sucrose transport, resulting in a decrease in the carbon proportion in the ear, harvest index, and ear weight.

Structure of Arabidopsis leaf starch is markedly altered following nocturnal degradation

Little is known about the thermal properties and internal molecular structure of transitory starch. In this study, granule morphology, thermal properties, and the cluster structure of Arabidopsis leaf starch at beginning and end of the light period were explored. The structural properties of building blocks and clusters were evaluated by using diverse chromatographic techniques. On the granular level, starch from end of day had larger granule size, thinner crystalline lamellae thickness, lower free surface energy of crystals, and lower tendency to retrograde than that from end of night. On the molecular level, the starch had lower amylose content, larger cluster size, and higher number of blocks per cluster at the end of day than at end of night. It is concluded that the core of the granules contains a more permanent molecular and less-ordered physical structure different from the transitory layers laid down around the core at daytime.

Effect of girdling at various positions of 'Huang Zhi Xiang' tea tree (Camellia sinensis) on the contents of catechins and starch in fresh leaf

The contents of starch and catechins in the fresh leaf of 'Huang Zhi Xiang' Oolong tea trees girdled at the bottom, middle (on the big branches) and top (on the small branches) were determined. The study demonstrated that the starch contents from girdled trees were significantly higher (p<0.05) than that from non-girdled ones. Furthermore, the contents of (-)-epicatechin (EC), (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC), total catechins (TC) and simple catechins (SC) from girdled trees were significantly higher (p<0.05) than those from non-girdled ones. Especially, the contents of (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), (-)-epicatechin gallate (ECG) and catechin gallate (CG) from girdled at the middle were also significantly higher (p<0.05) than those from the non-girdled. The starch contents were negatively correlated with the contents of (-)-gallocatechin (GC), EC, SC, TC and EGC, while positively correlated with the contents of EGCG and CG in fresh shoots.

Characterization of potato leaf starch

The starch accumulation-degradation process as well as the structure of leaf starch are not completely understood. To study this, starch was isolated from potato leaves collected in the early morning and late afternoon in July and August, representing different starch accumulation rates. The starch content of potato leaves varied between 2.9 and 12.9% (dry matter basis) over the night and day in the middle of July and between 0.6 and 1.5% in August. Scanning electron microscopy analyses of the four isolated starch samples showed that the granules had either an oval or a round shape and did not exceed 5 microm in size. Starch was extracted by successive washing steps with dimethyl sulfoxide and precipitated with ethanol. An elution profile on Sepharose CL-6B of debranched starch showed the presence of a material with a chain length distribution between that generally found for amylose and amylopectin. Amylopectin unit chains of low molecular size were present in a higher amount in the afternoon than in the morning samples. What remains at the end of the night is depleted in specific chain lengths, mainly between DP 15 and 24 and above DP 35, relative to the end of the day.

Inhibition of enzymic digestion of amylose by free fatty acids in vitro contributes to resistant starch formation

The effect of lipids on the enzymic breakdown of starch was investigated using an in vitro assay system. Mixtures of potato amylose, amylopectin and starch and various lipids were incubated at 37 degrees C for 10 min and subjected to digestion by alpha-amylase (EC 3.2.1.1) and amyloglucosidase (EC 3.2.1.33). Lauric, myristic, palmitic and oleic acids and lysolecithin inhibited enzymic hydrolysis of amylose by approximately 35% (P < 0.05). Stearic acid and cholesterol had no effect on the enzymic breakdown of amylose. Retrograded amylose was hydrolyzed less readily (P < 0.05) than solubilized amylose, but the breakdown was not further inhibited in the presence of lauric acid. Fatty acids had no effect on the enzymic hydrolysis of amylopectin, whereas inhibition by fatty acids of the breakdown of whole starch was consistent with only the amylose fraction being affected. The possibility that interactions between starch and fatty acids in the digestive tract could contribute to the formation of resistant starch is considered.

The chemical structure of amylose and amylopectin fractions of starch from tobacco leaves during development and diurnally-nocturnally

Starches, isolated from rapidly expanding tobacco leaves four times during the day and night and once from fully expanded leaves, were fractionated with concanavalin A. From an examination of the amounts and properties of amylose, the diurnal decrease in iodine absorption of the starches on illumination appeared to be due to an increase in its branched character, and possibly the presence of unbranched polymer of low dp, combined with a decrease in the proportion of amylose fraction. The increase in apparent amylose content with age was due to an increase in the proportion of amylose. The amylose fractions at different times had only small differences in average mol size in solution and relative mol wt (M(r) near 4 x 10(5)) which were lower than those of storage organs. The average mol size in solution and relative mol wt of the amylopectins decreased during illumination, increased in darkness, and were lower (M(r) 2-2.7 x 10(6)) at all times than those from storage organs. Debranching followed by size-exclusion chromatography [on Fractogel TSK 50(S)] gave similar proportions of long, medium, and short chains for all amylopectin samples, and these proportions differed from those for debranched amylopectin from n-maize seed starch. On debranching and chromatography of the amylopectin beta-limit dextrins (which gives an estimate of the proportions of core chains) differences persisted. Structural characteristics of amylopectin from tobacco leaf starch were similar to those of normal genotypes from storage organs. The proportion of glucosyl units in core chains, the external-to-core chain ratio, and indices of compactness were calculated for a number of (1-->4)(1-->6) alpha-glucans. A plot of the index of compactness for glycogens and amylopectins showed that the decrease in compactness and the increase in total average chain length that occurs from glycogen to normal and then to amylose extender amylopectins involves a proportionate increase in average internal, external, and core chain lengths and not a selective increase in one type of chain.

Trends in carbohydrate depletion, respiratory carbon loss, and assimilate export from soybean leaves at night

To evaluate assimilate export from soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merrill) leaves at night, rates of respiratory CO(2) loss, specific leaf weight loss, starch mobilization, and changes in sucrose concentration were measured during a 10-hour dark period in leaves of pod-bearing ;Amsoy 71' and ;Wells II' plants in a controlled environment. Lateral leaflets were removed at various times between 2200 hours (beginning dark period) and 0800 hours (ending dark period) for dry weight determination and carbohydrate analyses. Respiratory CO(2) loss was measured throughout the 10-hour dark period. Rate of export was estimated from the rate of loss in specific leaf weight and rate of CO(2) efflux. Rate of assimilate export was not constant. Rate of export was relatively low during the beginning of the dark period, peaked during the middle of the dark period, and then decreased to near zero by the end of darkness. Rate of assimilate export was associated with rate of starch mobilization and amount of starch reserves available for export. Leaves of Amsoy 71 had a higher maximum export rate in conjunction with a greater total change in starch concentration than did leaves of Wells II. Sucrose concentration rapidly declined during the first hour of darkness and then remained constant throughout the rest of the night in leaves of both cultivars. Rate of assimilate export was not associated with leaf sucrose concentration.

Starch depletion and sugars in developing cotton leaves

Cotton plants (cv. Coker 100) were exposed to a 14-hour dark period. Starch degradation occurred with no accumulation of sugars due mainly to translocation. Considerable amounts of starch degradation products however were detected from leaves after phloem transport was blocked. A minor component (10 to 25% of total starch) with a linear structure, amylose, was preferentially degraded, whereas the major multiple-branched component (about 80%), amylopectin, showed an increasing resistance to degradation with leaf age. This relationship was also shown by the decreasing iodine-binding capacity of unit starch with increasing leaf age. The structural resistance of amylopectin to enzymic dark degradation was one of the barriers to starch dissolution in cotton.