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The effect of ethylene on RNA and protein synthesis in germinating Manketti (Ricinodendron rautanenii Schinz) seeds

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Abstract

Amino acid uptake and protein synthesis were monitored in the embryonic axis, cotyledons and endosperm of manketti seeds (Ricinodendron rautanenii Schinz) during imbition, dormancy and dormancy-breaking by ethylene. Protein synthesis increased in all tissues within 48 h of imbibition and was strongly inhibited by cycloheximide and actinomycin D. No marked increase in protein synthesis was observed following ethylene treatment suggesting that qualitative rather than quantitative changes in protein synthesis were associated with dormancy-breaking. Seed germination was relatively insensitive to treatment with actinomycin D in marked contrast to the inhibition observed with cycloheximide.

It is suggested that dormancy-breaking by ethylene may require protein synthesis but not DNA-dependent RNA synthesis.

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Keegan, A.B., Kelly, K.M., Van Staden, J. et al. The effect of ethylene on RNA and protein synthesis in germinating Manketti (Ricinodendron rautanenii Schinz) seeds. Plant Growth Regul 7, 227–236 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00037632

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