Effects of Temperature on the Conversion of Sucrose to Starch in the Developing Wheat Endosperm

Abstract

Elevated temperature during grain filling resulted in reduced single grain weight due largely to an effect of temperature on the accumulation of starch in the endosperm. Wheat endosperm was cultured in vitro on solutions of [¹⁴C]sucrose and the responses to variation in temperature within the range 15-35°C were evaluated in terms of the absorption of radioactive sugar, the evolution of ¹⁴CO₂, and the incorporation of radioactivity into starch.

At 35°C the level of ¹⁴C in the intracellular pool of soluble carbohydrate was higher than it was at 30°C, and the average Q,₁₀ for ¹⁴CO₂ production was 2.1. Incorporation of ¹⁴C into starch was greater at 30°C than at 25°C, but at 35°C only half as much [¹⁴C]starch was produced compared with that at 30°C.

Residual effects of exposure of ears to brief episodes of elevated temperature were investigated by culturing endosperm isolated from such ears on [¹⁴C]sucrose at a standard temperature (25°C). Two days of exposure resulted in greater amounts of [¹⁴C]starch produced, due to accelerated starch depo- sition, but longer periods (4-6 days) at elevated temperature resulted in substantial reductions in [¹⁴C]starch deposition. Exposure to elevated temperature also hastened the onset of chlorophyll degradation in the pericarp of the grain.

Two types of response to temperature appear to be involved: a comparatively low temperature optimum for starch synthesis, and an irreversible reduction in the capacity of the endosperm to convert sucrose to starch resulting from exposure of the ears, or the grains themselves, to elevated temperature.