title: Evidence for down-regulation of ethanolic fermentation and K+ effluxes in the coleoptile of rice seedlings during prolonged anoxia.
abstract: Ethanolic fermentation, the predominant catabolic pathway in anoxia-tolerant rice coleoptiles, was manipulated in excised and 'aged' tissues via glucose feeding. Coleoptiles with exogenous glucose survived 60 h of anoxia, as evidenced by vigorous rates of K+ and phosphate net uptake and growth of roots and shoots when re-aerated. In contrast, coleoptiles without exogenous glucose showed net losses of K+ and phosphates starting 12 h after anoxia was imposed and these did not recover fully when re-aerated after 60 h of anoxia. Ethanol production (micromol x g(-1) FW x h(-1)) declined from about 7.5 during the first 12 h of anoxia to 5 or 2.2 after 48-60 h, in coleoptiles with or without exogenous glucose, respectively. Carbohydrate concentrations changed only slightly in anoxic coleoptiles with exogenous glucose due to net glucose uptake at 2.6 micromol x g(-1) FW x h(-1). Ethanolic fermentation, and therefore ATP production, may have been down-regulated after an initial period of acclimation to anoxia in coleoptiles with exogenous glucose. Maintenance requirements for energy were assessed to be 3.4-7.6-fold lower in these anoxic coleoptiles than published estimates for non-growing aerated leaf tissues. A modest part of the required economy in energy consumption would have been derived from diminished ion transport; anoxia reduced K+ and phosphate net uptake by 70-90% in these coleoptiles. K+ efflux was 10-fold lower in anoxic than in aerated coleoptiles with exogenous glucose. Using the unidirectional efflux equation, the membrane permeability to K+ was estimated to be 17-fold lower in anoxic than in aerated coleoptiles, presumably due to predominantly closed K+ channels.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia, 6009, Australia. tdcolmer@cyllene.uwa.edu.au
authors.forename: T D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Colmer
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Greenway
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000096:biosynthesis; D050260:Carbohydrate Metabolism; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D000431:Ethanol / Q000378:metabolism*; D005285:Fermentation / Q000502:physiology; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D017136:Ion Transport; D012275:Oryza / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism*; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D010710:Phosphates / Q000378:metabolism; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000254:growth & development; D018547:Plant Stems / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D011188:Potassium / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D010710:Phosphates; D000431:Ethanol; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D005947:Glucose; D011188:Potassium; D010100:Oxygen