title: Changes in the hormonal status of the Taraxacum officinale Web. ovary at early stages of embryogenesis.
abstract: The hormonal status of the Taraxacum officinale Web. ovary was quantitatively assayed for the first time during early stages of embryogenesis. Apparent concentrations of endogenous cytokinins were measured using two systems of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The ELISA systems differed from one another by the specificity for the main endogenous forms of zeatin. The specificity of two heterological ELISA systems based on zeatin- and kinetin-specific antisera was studied. A new immunochemical approach to the problem of differential quantitative determination of natural zeatin forms is suggested. This approach does not require preliminary separation of experimental samples into individual fractions. True concentrations of zeatin and zeatin riboside in the T. officinale ovary were calculated based on the average values of apparent concentrations of endogenous cytokinins. When the embryo sac maturation had been completed, there was a threefold increase in the zeatin riboside concentration within the following 12 h. By the time of the first division of an unfertilized ovicell (i.e., within the next 12 h), there had been a twofold decrease in the zeatin riboside concentration. Therefore, at early stages of division of the unfertilized ovicell the zeatin riboside concentration virtually returned to the initial level. In contrast to zeatin riboside, there was a steady trend toward an increase in the zeatin concentration in the T. officinale ovary. Within the first 12 h and the next 12 h after completion of the embryo sac maturation, the zeatin concentration was increased 1.5-fold and 2-fold, respectively. The results of this work provide a pioneering insight into the dynamics of various natural forms of zeatin during the reproductive process. The immunochemical approach to quantitative monitoring of various natural forms of zeatin and their dynamics during embryogenesis suggested in this work can be extended to similar biological, medical, and agricultural problems of differential determination of low-molecular-weight agents of similar structure but different biological activity.
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119899, Russia. mag@1.plantphys.bio.msu.ru.
authors.forename: A N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Blintsov
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Gussakovskaya
authors.forename: I P
authors.initials: IP
authors.lastname: Yermakov
mesh_terms: D000241:Adenosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D019659:Asteraceae / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007541:Isopentenyladenosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D015026:Zeatin / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010937:Plant Growth Regulators; D007541:Isopentenyladenosine; D015026:Zeatin; C009699:zeatin riboside; D000241:Adenosine