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Metabolism and Enzymology

Photosynthetic Potential and Accumulation of Assimilates in the Developing Chloroembryos of Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub ¹

Department of Botany, Bharathidasen University, Tiruchirapalli-620 024, India

The photosynthetic potential of leaves and chloroembryos of Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub as measured by ¹⁴C-bicarbonate fixation, Hill activity, and in vivo fluorescence transients is compared. On a chlorophyll basis, dark fixation of NaH¹⁴CO₃ in chloroembryos was 1.5 times higher than that of the leaf, whereas carbon fixation under illumination was threefold higher in the leaf than in the embryos. Rates of O₂ evolution were four times more in embryo than in leaf chloroplasts. Shading of developing fruits on the day of anthesis for 10 days induced a 65% reduction in dry matter accumulation in the etiolated embryos, as compared to the normal green embryos of the same fruit half covered by a transparent Polythene sheet. The reduction in dry weight, size of the embryos, and levels of assimilates after shading the developing fruits may be ascribed to partial autotrophy of the chloroembryos.

¹ Financial support by the Department of Science and Technology and Ministry of Environment and Forests, New Delhi, India, is gratefully acknowledged.