Free radical processes and loss of seed viability during desiccation in the recalcitrant species Quercus robur L

Loss of moisture in mature seeds of Quercus robur L. was associated with loss of viability, a rise in lipid peroxidation and build-up of free radicals. Radical-initiated damage was largely confined to the embryonic axes as their moisture contents declined to below 47 %. The accumulation of a stable free radical in axial tissue, detected by electron para-magnetic resonance (EPR), was indistinguishable from the EPR response previously shown in a moss on droughting and maize roots on desiccation. A minor higher-field component appeared to represent an intermediate stage in the sequence of free radical reactions associated with loss of water. Using seeds from freshly abscised fruits dried to different moisture contents, protective mechanisms against activated forms of oxygen were monitored in cotyledons and in embryonic axes. The two tissues exhibit distinctly different molecular defences against oxidative attack; that in the cotyledons being predominantly enzymatic, with relatively high and increasing activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase; that in the axes being largely through the anti-oxidants, ascorbic acid and alpha-tocopherol. We conclude that a decrease in enzymic protection against oxidative attack in the axes, associated with diminishing concentrations of alpha-tocopherol (and depletion of the precursor gamma-tocopherol) as moisture was lost, was directly linked with lipid peroxidation and free radical formation in the axes and that these events taken together may contribute to loss of viability in these recalcitrant seeds.

The role of ascorbate in drought-treated Cochlearia atlantica Pobed. and Armeria maritima (Mill.) Willd

Cochlearia atlantica is a species rich in ascorbic acid. After 4 days of intermittent drought treatment, there was a large decrease in the concentration of ascorbate and glutathione, functioning probably as radical scavengers (anti-oxidants). Although there was no increase in lipid peroxidation (a marker of oxygen radical damage), drought treatment did result in the destruction of chlorophyll and a decrease in protein. This species showed little or no change in the activities of five enzymes usually associated with the processing of, and protection from, activated forms of oxygen. Armeria maritima showed similar decreases in relative water content and dry weight after droughting, but a quantitatively smaller decrease in ascorbate with no loss of glutathione. Instead a major response to drought, in this species, was the marked increases in the activities of superoxide dismutasc and peroxidase. Despite these increases in enzymic defences against oxygen radicals, drought treatment resulted in increased lipid peroxidation. in A. maritima. It is concluded that ascorbic acid and glutathione may play a significant role in the response to drought in C. atlantica but protection in A. maritima is largely through enzymic processing of activated farms of oxygen.

THE DEGRADATION OF CHLOROPHYLL - A BIOLOGICAL ENIGMA

Some 10⁹ tonnes of chlorophyll are destroyed each year on land and in the oceans. The fate of these chlorophylls is, however, largely unknown. This review describes the developmental stages at which chlorophyll breakdown occurs in aquatic and terrestrial biological systems, and the destruction arising from herbivory, disease, pollution and other physical hazards. At the cellular level, an attempt is made to separate the breakdown of chlorophyll during senescence from the many other events associated with cell destruction and death. A consideration of the more important chemical and biophysical properties of chlorophylls and their derivatives is provided, together with data on their spectral properties. The biosynthetic and biodegradative pathways of chlorophyll metabolism are, so far as is possible, described with some predictions as to the likely fate of the missing tonnes. Two types of degradation are recognized; the first involves up to five defined enzymes concerned with the early stages, the second covers the less well defined enzymic and non-enzymic destruction of the macrocyclic structure. These degradative reactions are compared with the reactions implicated in the breakdown of other porphyrins including haems in plants and animals. A brief description is given of the occurrence of breakdown products of chlorophyll in past biomass, including those of geological significance and those in a more recent archaeological context. Finally, the economic significance of chlorophyll breakdown is considered in the context of agriculture and horticulture, veterinary and medical sciences, food colouring and cosmetic industries, and the multi-million-dollar attraction of autumn leaf fall to tourism. Contents Summary 256 I. Introduction 256 II. Chlorophylls: global production and destruction 259 III. Chlorophylls: nomenclature and chemical characteristics 260 IV. Chlorophyll metabolism 268 V. Chlorophyll degradation during senescence 274 VI. Other degradative conditions 278 VII. Breakdown products in past biomass 287 VIII. Pathways of degradation 289 IX. Economic importance 291 Acknowledgements 294 References 294.

IRON-INDUCED OXYGEN RADICAL METABOLISM IN WATERLOGGED PLANTS

Roots of the iron-sensitive wetland plant, Epilobium hirsutum L., respond to oxygen-depletion by enhanced uptake of ferrous ions. Evidence is presented for an iron-catalyzed reaction within roots leading to super oxide radical formation and the induction of superoxide dismutase. The immediate product, H₂ O₂ , appears to accumulate in the absence of catalase and low activity of root peroxidases, resulting in hydroxyl radical formation, inhibition of protein synthesis, increased lipid peroxidation and gross cellular damage. Evidence for alternative 'healthy' responses is given. A scheme is presented which outlines a biochemical mechanism for iron-mediated flood or waterlogging tolerance and intolerance in plants.