EFFECTS OF SUCROSE ON METABOLIZE POOL SIZES AND RIBULOSE-1,5-BISPHOSPHATE CARBOXYLASE/OXYGENASE ACTIVITY IN STRAWBERRY PLANTLETS CULTIVATED IN VITRO
To identify the physiological and biochemical events leading to the negative effects of sucrose in culture medium on the photosynthetic capacity of plantlets cultivated in vitro, time-course changes in photosynthesis, metabolize pool sizes, and ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) activity were investigated in strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch. cv. Kent) plantlets following their transfer to medium with or without sucrose. When the plantlets grown in medium without sucrose were transferred to a similar medium with 30 g sucrose/liter, their net photosynthesis decreased and their level of phosphorylated compounds increased with time. In addition, initial Kcat, total Kcat, and the activation state of Rubisco decreased in these plantlets. Conversely, when the plantlets grown in medium with 30 g sucrose/liter were transferred to a similar medium without sucrose, their net photosynthesis slowly increased with time and their level of phosphorylated compounds slowly decreased. A slow increase with time of initial Kcat, total Kcat, and the activation state of Rubisco was also observed in these plantlets. The results of the present research suggest that the reduced photosynthetic capacity of strawberry plantlets cultivated in vitro in the presence of sucrose was the consequence of reduced Rubisco efficiency due to its deactivation and the possible presence of a putative tight binding inhibitor.