ABSTRACT
The aim of this paper was to evaluate an acute dose of gamma-rays (10 Gy) on post-dormant garlic seed cloves in terms of total DNA, total RNA, total protein and soluble carbohydrates in order to correlate these levels with sprouting inhibition induced by gamma-irradiation. Decreases in total DNA content were found in inner sprouts immediately and 100 days after irradiation. The total RNA and protein contents and the carbohydrate content of the storage leaf or the inner sprout were not affected by gamma-irradiation. The results support the notion that in post-dormant garlic seed cloves, DNA content and its behaviour seem to be among the sensitive cellular responses to radiation.
Subject(s)
Garlic/radiation effects , Plants, Medicinal , Carbohydrates/chemistry , Food Preservation/methods , Gamma Rays , Garlic/growth & development , Nucleic Acids/chemistry , Proteins/chemistry , Time FactorsABSTRACT
The effects of an acute dose of gamma-rays (10 Gy) to post-dormant garlic cloves on inner sprout growth and changes in peroxidases and soluble proteins were evaluated up to 100 days of storage in darkness at 19 +/- 1 degree C and 42 +/- 2% relative humidity. Radiation-induced inhibition of sprout growth became evident after 25 days of treatment and was synchronous with a marked increase in peroxidase activity. Thin-layer isoelectric focusing revealed that radiation induced an increase in the number of anodic peroxidase isoenzymes at 100 days, suggesting modifications in the vascularization process. Neither the soluble protein content nor the protein pattern were affected by irradiation. These results are discussed in terms of a possible mediating effect of peroxidase on radiation-induced sprout inhibition in garlic.
