Engineering topics

Leopold, A. C.

Publications and source records attributed to Leopold, A. C..

30 records · Page 2

NASA NTRS1987

Water content and the conversion of phytochrome regulation of lettuce dormancy

In an effort to determine which biological reactions can occur in relation to the water content of seeds, the regulation of lettuce seed dormancy by red and far red light was determined at various hydration levels. Far red light had an inhibiting effect on germination for seeds at all moisture contents from 4 to 32% water. Germination was progressively stimulated by red light as seed hydration increased from 8 to 15%, and reached a maximum at moisture contents above 18%. Red light was ineffective at moisture contents below 8%. Seeds that had been stimulated by red light and subsequently dried lost the enhanced germinability if stored at moisture contents above 8%. The contrast between the presumed photoconversion of phytochrome far red-absorbing (Pfr) to (Pr) occurring at any moisture content and the reverse reaction occurring only if the seed moisture content is greater than 8% may be explained on the basis of the existence of unstable intermediates in the Pr to Pfr conversion. Our results suggest that the initial photoreaction involved in phytochrome conversion is relatively independent of water content, while the subsequent partial reactions become increasingly facilitated as water content increases from 8 to 18%.

Non-NASA Center↗

NASA NTRS1987

Effect of inhibitors of auxin transport and of calmodulin on a gravisensing-dependent current in maize roots

Some characteristics of the gravity sensing mechanism in maize root caps were investigated using a bioelectric current as an indicator of gravity sensing. This technique involves the measurement of a change in the current density which arises at the columella region coincidently with the presentation time. Two inhibitors of auxin transport, triiodobenzoic acid and naphthylphthalamic acid, blocked gravitropic curvature but not the change in current density. Two inhibitors of calmodulin activity, compound 48/80 and calmidazolium, blocked both curvature and gravity-induced current. The results suggest that auxin transport is not a component of gravity sensing in the root cap. By contrast, the results suggest that calmodulin plays an intrinsic role in gravity sensing.

Non-NASA Center↗

NASA NTRS1987

An electric current associated with gravity sensing in maize roots

The study of gravisensing would be greatly enhanced if physiological events associated with gravity sensing could be detected separately from subsequent growth processes. This report presents a means to discriminate sensing from the growth processes. By using a vibrating probe, we have found an electric current generated by the gravity sensing region of the root cap of maize (Zea mays cv Merit) in response to gravistimulation. On the upper surface of the root cap, the change from the endogenous current has a density of 0.55 microampere per square centimeter away from gravity. The onset of the current shift has a characteristic of lag of three to four minutes after gravistimulation, which corresponds to the presentation time for gravity sensing in this tissue. A description of the current provides some information about the sensing mechanism, as well as being a valuable means to detect gravity sensing independently of differential growth.

NASA Discipline Number 40-10↗

NASA NTRS1987

Oxidative processes in soybean and pea seeds: effect of light, temperature, and water content

Oxidative processes are probable determinants of longevity of seeds in storage. Measurements of actual oxygen uptake rates were made for soybean and pea seeds as a comparison of short and long lived seeds when light, temperature, and moisture contents were varied. In both peas and soybeans, the oxygen uptake was depressed at low temperatures (<16 degrees C) and low water contents (< 0.25 gram H2O per gram dry weight). Apparent activation energies under these conditions are very high, while apparent activation energies of seeds at higher water contents and at temperatures greater than 22 degrees C are much less. Light enhances the level of oxygen uptake in pea, but reduces the level of oxygen uptake in soybean. The complexities of the interactions of oxygen uptake with environmental conditions in soybean compared to pea suggest that oxidative processes occur in soybean at low water contents, but are essentially absent in pea. It is suggested that the additional oxidative processes in soybean with moisture contents between 0.10 and 0.24 gram per gram may contribute to the poorer longevity of soybean seed compared to pea seed.

NASA Program Space Biology↗

NASA NTRS1986

Amyloplast sedimentation and organelle saltation in living corn columella cells

Amyloplast sedimentation during gravistimulation and organelle movements was studied in living central rootcap cells of Zea mays L. cv. Merit. Cells from sectioned roots were viewed with a horizontally-mounted videomicroscope. The kinetics of gravity-induced amyloplast sedimentation were comparable to those calculated from experiments using fixed material. Individual amyloplasts fell at an average velocity of 5.5 micrometers min-1; the maximal velocity of fall measured was 18.0 micrometers min-1. Amyloplasts often rotated, sometimes rose in the cytoplasm, and occasionally underwent sudden rapid movements as fast as 58 micrometers min-1. Saltations of other organelles were frequently observed. This appears to be the first report of cytoplasmic streaming in the presumptive statocytes of roots.

NASA Program Space Biology↗

NASA NTRS1985

Gravistimulation-induced changes in current patterns around root caps

Changes in the electric current patterns around the root cap of corn following gravistimulation were determined using a vibrating probe. A transient increase in upward current in the cap was found following stimulation. The response began with a time lag similar to the presentation time, and was limited to the area of the root cap lateral to the statocytes. A physiological response as rapid as that reported by Behrens et al. (1985) was not observed.

Bjorkman, T.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Amyloplast Sedimentation Kinetics in Corn Roots

Knowledge of the parameters of amyloplast sedimentation is crucial for an evaluation of proposed mechanisms of root graviperception. Early estimates of the rate of root amyloplast sedimentation were as low as 1.2 micron/min which may be too slow for many amyloplasts to reach the vicinity of the new lower wall within the presentation time. On this basis, Haberlandt's classical statolith hypothesis involving amyloplast stimulation of a sensitive surface near the new lower wall was questioned. The aim was to determine the kinetics of amyloplast sedimentation with reference to the presentation time in living and fixed corn rootcap cells as compared with coleoptiles of the same variety.

Leopold, A. C.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Cytoplasmic streaming affects gravity-induced amyloplast sedimentation in maize coleoptiles

Living maize (Zea mays L.) coleoptile cells were observed using a horizontal microscope to determine the interaction between cytoplasmic streaming and gravity-induced amyloplast sedimentation. Sedimentation is heavily influenced by streaming which may (1) hasten or slow the velocity of amyloplast movement and (2) displace the plastid laterally or even upwards before or after sedimentation. Amyloplasts may move through transvacuolar strands or through the peripheral cytoplasm which may be divided into fine cytoplasmic strands of much smaller diameter than the plastids. The results indicate that streaming may contribute to the dynamics of graviperception by influencing amyloplast movement.

Cotyledon/cytology/physiology/ultrastructure↗

NASA NTRS1985

Amyloplast sedimentation kinetics in gravistimulated maize roots

Amyloplast sedimentation in gravistimulated maize (Zea mays L.) roots was measured using the change in angle from the center of the cell to each amyloplast as an index of sedimentation. Using tissue fixed after gravistimulation, the relationship between mean amyloplast angle and the duration of gravistimulation was found to be linear when plotted on a logarithmic time scale. Extrapolated values for the onset of angular change are 5.9 s after the start of gravistimulation for the entire population of amyloplasts and 11.8 s for lead amyloplasts. By multiplying the instantaneous angular velocity (in radians) by the cell center to amyloplast radius, it is possible to calculate the initial sedimentation velocity to be 19.1 micrometers min-1 at 5.9 s. During sedimentation, the mean amyloplast angles surpass the calculated cell corner angle of 123 at 2.2 min for all amyloplasts and at 19 s for lead amyloplasts near the new lower wall. Thus, substantial sedimentation occurs within the presentation time, calculated to be 4.1 min. These kinetics are consistent with several hypotheses of graviperception.

Plant Roots/growth & development/physiology/ultras↗

NASA NTRS1984

Callose deposition during gravitropism of Zea mays and Pisum sativum and its inhibition by 2-deoxy-D-glucose

In etiolated corn (Zea mays L.) and etiolated pea (Pisum sativum L.) seedlings, a gravitropic stimulation induces the deposition of callose. In the corn coleoptiles this occurs within 5 min of gravity stimulation, and prior to the beginning of curvature. Both gravitropic curvature and callose deposition reach their maxima by 12 h. Within the first 2 h more callose is deposited on the upper (concave) side, but after 2-3 h, this deposition pattern is reversed. An inhibitor of protein glycosylation, 2-deoxy-D-glucose (DDG), inhibits callose production and considerably retards gravitropic bending in both species of plants. Mannose can relieve the inhibition of gravitropic bending by DDG. The pea mutant "Ageotropum", which does not respond to gravity when etiolated, also fails to produce callose in response to a gravitic stimulus. These correlations indicate that callose deposition may be a biochemical component of gravitropism in plant shoots.

Peas/genetics/growth & development/metabolism↗

NASA NTRS1984

Amyloplast movement in living statocytes

Much evidence implicates amyloplast movement in plant graviperception. How this signal is transduced into a differential growth response is not known. Studies using fixed tissue are useful for deriving mean sedimentation rates, but cannot yield data on: the movement of individual amyloplasts, the role of cytoplasmic streaming, and the initial dynamic events occurring during the presentation time. These limitations were overcome by examining living tissue sections with a horizontally mounted microscope connected to a video camera and recorder. The kinetics of the early response to reorientation are consistent with the hypothesis that amyloplasts act by contact with a sensitive surface near the lower wall and indicate that cytoplasmic streaming provides an important vector in amyloplast redistribution in response to gravity.

Leopold, A. C.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Characteristics of statoliths from rootcaps and coleoptiles

Amyloplasts with intact envelopes were isolated from corn coleoptiles, incubated with either cationized ferritin (CF) or fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-CF, and examined with epifluorescence optics. Before incubation, the mean zeta potential was found to be -19.4 mv. The net negative surface charge was confirmed ultrastructurally by the binding of CF to both amyloplasts and starch grains. Binding to the latter was reduced compared to the former. FITC-CF showed binding to some but not all amyloplasts, and was absent from individual starch granules. Membrane-bound calcium, indicated by chlorotetracycline, fluorescence, was detected throughout the cytoplasm of root cap cells. These results may reflect an affinity of CF for membrane-based charge, and suggest that a calcium shell exists on the amyloplast envelope.

Sack, F. D.↗