title: The influence of altered gravity on carbohydrate metabolism in excised wheat leaves.
abstract: We developed a system to study the influence of altered gravity on carbohydrate metabolism in excised wheat leaves by means of clinorotation. The use of excised leaves in our clinostat studies offered a number of advantages over the use of whole plants, most important of which were minimization of exogenous mechanical stress and a greater amount of carbohydrate accumulation during the time of treatment. We found that horizontal clinorotation of excised wheat leaves resulted in significant reductions in the accumulation of fructose, sucrose, starch and fructan relative to control, vertically clinorotated leaves. Photosynthesis, dark respiration and the extractable activities of ADP glucose pyrophosphorylase (EC 2.7.7.27), sucrose phosphate synthase (EC 2.4.4.14), sucrose sucrose fructosyltransferase (EC 2.4.1.99), and fructan hydrolase (EC 3.2.1.80) were unchanged due to altered gravity treatment.
authors.affiliation: Plant Space Biology Laboratory, The Bionetics Corporation, Kennedy Space Center, Florida 32899, USA.
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Obenland
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D019069:Cell Respiration; D003624:Darkness; D005630:Fructans / Q000378:metabolism*; D005632:Fructose / Q000378:metabolism; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D006026:Glycoside Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism; D006112:Gravitation; D018470:Gravity, Altered; D006602:Hexosyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism*; D012399:Rotation; D013213:Starch / Q000378:metabolism*; D013395:Sucrose / Q000378:metabolism*; D014908:Triticum / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D005630:Fructans; D005632:Fructose; D013395:Sucrose; D013213:Starch; D006602:Hexosyltransferases; C021451:inulosucrase; D006026:Glycoside Hydrolases; C021512:levanase; D005947:Glucose