Regulators of cell division in plant tissues XXIX. The activities of cytokinin glucosides and alanine conjugates in cytokinin bioassays

Abstract

In a number of cytokinin bioassays, the activities of the following compounds were compared: 3-, 7-, and 9-glucosides of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP); 7- and 9-glucosides of zeatin; O-glucosides of zeatin, dihydrozeatin, and their ribosides; 9-alanine conjugates of zeatin, and BAP. The bioassays included the radish cotyledon, theAmaranthus betacyanin, the oat leaf senescence, and the tobacco pith callus. Cytokinin activity was markedly reduced by 7- and 9-glucosylation in nearly all bioassays, but 3-glucosylation of BAP and O-glucosylation of the zeatin sidechain usually had little effect on activity. However, there were two notable exceptions to this generalization: the activity of O-glucosylzeatin markedly exceeded that of zeatin in the oat leaf senescence assay; 9-glucosyl-BAP and free BAP were similarly active in retarding the senescence of radish leaf discs. The 9-alanine conjugate of zeatin (lupinic acid) and of BAP were markedly less active than zeatin and BAP, respectively, in all bioassays, but the responses evoked by these conjugates at high concentrations in theAmaranthus bioassay approached those caused by the corresponding base. The activities of several new compounds related to the alanine conjugate of BAP were also assessed. To serve as a guide in the selection of the most suitable bioassay for detection of the above-mentioned cytokinin conjugates, the lowest detectable amounts in selected bioassays have been compared.