Maintenanance of Viability of Carrot Tissue Slices in Washing Solutions After Cutting

Abstract

In studies of the characteristics of the uptake of boric acid by plant tissues (Wildes and Neales, unpublished data) we used disks cut from carrot roots. Bacon, MacDonald, and Knight (1965) have emphasized the necessity of using storage tissue free of bacteria for such physiological studies. In the course of our experiments we therefore investigated the extent of bacterial contamination in carrot disks immediately after cutting, and also examined the effects of chloramphenicol and calcium chloride in the washing solution on the extent of the development of bacterial contamination in the disks. We also made measurements of various properties that gave evidence of their normal biological activity. The loss of this activity, in our experience, was characterized by a final loss of turgor, browning of both tissue and washing solutions, and a failure to respond in respiration rate to both the addition of salts and 2,4-dinitrophenol.