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TRANSLOCATION IN POLYTRICHUM COMMUNE (BRYOPHYTA) I. CONDUCTION AND ALLOCATION OF PHOTOASSIMILATES
Author(s) -
Thomas Robert J.,
Schiele Edwin M.,
Scheirer Daniel C.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
american journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.218
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1537-2197
pISSN - 0002-9122
DOI - 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1988.tb13439.x
Subject(s) - biology , rhizome , botany , moss , sucrose , sugar , phloem , biochemistry
Leafy stems and connecting underground rhizomes of Polytrichum commune Hedw. contain leptome tissues similar in structure to phloem. Isolated stems in clonal groupings were pulse labelled with 14 CO 2 . Labelled sugar, mostly sucrose, glucose, and fructose, appeared in the pulse labelled stems 30 min after treatment. A small amount (3.3%) of labelled sugar was transported to neighboring stems. Silver grain deposition in microautoradiographs of interconnecting rhizomes occurred predominantly over leptome tissues. Increased amounts of translocated radioactivity appeared in starch and cell wall polysaccharide pools one week and six weeks after treatment. These results 1] indicate that transport of photoassimilate occurs through the leptome of perennating rhizomes, 2] demonstrate that translocated carbon is subsequently utilized or stored, and 3] raise important questions about the significance of long distance transport in the life strategy of this complex clonal moss.