PHENYLBORIC ACID, A CHEMICAL AGENT SIMULATING THE EFFECT OF THE LANCEOLATE GENE IN THE TOMATO

Lanceolate, a spontaneously occurring mutant in the tomato, which has 1 dosage of the mutant gene, causes a change in the shape of the leaf from the odd‐pinnately compound leaf characteristic of the normal tomato plant to a simple, much‐reduced in size lanceolate leaf. Homozygous mutant plants, which have 2 dosages of the mutant gene, exhibit extreme lanceolate features, producing a simple narrow leaf, similar in shape to the lanceolate leaf but much smaller in size. The mutant allele of the lanceolate gene causes, in addition to the change in leaf form, the increase in activities of the following oxidative enzymes: tyrosinase, laccase, peroxidase and catalase. The lanceolate gene exhibits a dosage effect with respect to these enzymes, homozygous lanceolate showing the highest activity; heterozygous lanceolate, an intermediate; and normal, the lowest activity. Treatment of germinating normal tomato seeds with phenylboric acid simulated the effect of the mutant allele of the lanceolate gene with regard to both the induction of a lanceolate leaf and the increase in the activity of the above 4 oxidative enzymes; phenylboric acid treatment resulted in relatively higher increase in the activities of the oxidative enzymes in normal and heterozygous lanceolate than in homozygous lanceolate. A direct and close relationship existed between the shape of the leaf and the activity of the enzymes during leaf development. It is suggested that the mutant allele of the lanceolate gene, as well as phenylboric acid, induces an increase in activity of the oxidative enzymes and that this increase in enzyme activities brings about the orderly change in form.