The Role of Boron in the Translocation of Sucrose

In view of the well-known reaction of the borate ion with OH-rich compounds and its recent application in the borating of sugars in order that they may be separated on ion-exchange columns (14, 18), the authors conceived and tested an hypothesis as to one essential role of boron in plants. The hypothesis is that boron combines with sugar to form a sugar-borate complex (ionizable) which is translocated with greater facility than are nonborated, non-ionized sugar molecules. Inasmuch as most studies have indicated that sucrose does not move readily through cellular membranes, the work reported herein was limited to sucrose and the effect of a few (5 to 10) parts per million of boron on its translocation.