Rapid starch synthesis associated with increased respiration in germinating lily pollen

Abstract

In vitro studies of germinating Lilium longiflorum pollen showed that starch increased more rapidly during the first 30 minutes of incubation than during the next several hours. The period of rapid starch formation coincided with the first period of high respiration. An estimate was made of the extra ATP utilized to form extra starch during the first 30 minutes, and this estimate indicates that starch synthesis accounts for a significant portion of the initial high rate of respiration. This pattern of respiration and starch synthesis was not altered when pollen germinated in a pentaerythritol medium that could not be metabolized instead of the standard sucrose medium.Sucrose was the predominant sugar in mature lily pollen. This sugar decreased 50% during several hours incubation in pentaerythritol culture medium. Reducing sugars remained low during incubation which may indicate that sucrose breakdown is regulated by the rate of utilization of hexose units.