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. 1969 Aug;44(8):1163–1168. doi: 10.1104/pp.44.8.1163

Trehalase: A New Pollen Enzyme

Arnold E S Gussin a,3, Jeffrey H McCormack a,4, Lucille Yih-Lo Waung a,5, Doreen S Gluckin a
PMCID: PMC396233  PMID: 5379538

Abstract

Pollen from 5 plant species (Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium Mill., Hermerocallis minor Mill., Galtonia condicans Decne., Camellia japonica L., and Lathyrus odoratus L.) representing 4 families germinated well in media containing trehalose as the sole carbon source. Data are presented indicating that pollen metabolized this disaccharide for germination and subsequent pollen-tube growth; the sugar was not merely an osmoregulator. An inhibitor of trehalase activity depressed germination in trehalose but not in sucrose. Phloridzin dihydrate, an inhibitor of glucose transport, depressed germination in both disaccharides.

Biochemical tests demonstrated that a pollen extract was capable of hydrolyzing trehalose to its constituent glucose monomers. Heat inactivation experiments confirmed the presence of a distinct trehalase having a rigid specificity for its substrate. By this method, trehalase activity was completely distinguishable from the activities of other α- and β-glucosidases and β-galactosidases. Localization data indicated that the enzyme diffused from intact grains and was probably soluble. The presence of its substrate could not be demonstrated in pollen or in stigmatic or stylar tissues.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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