Root-uptake of (14)C derived from acetic acid and (14)C transfer to rice edible parts.

Three types of culture experiments using paddy rice (Oryza sativa L.) were performed to examine root-uptake of (14)C in the form of acetic acid: double pot experiment (hydroponics), wet culture experiment (submerged sand medium), and chamber experiment (hydroponics and submerged sand medium). The (14)C radioactivity in the plant, mediums, and atmospheric carbon dioxide ((14)CO(2)) in the chamber were determined, and the distribution of (14)C in the plant was visualized using autoradiography. In the double pot experiment, the shoot of the plant and the lower root which was soaked in the culture solution had (14)C radioactivity, but the upper root which did not have contact with the solution had none. There were also (14)C radioactivity in the grains and roots in the wet culture experiment. Results of the chamber experiment showed that (14)CO(2) gas was released from the culture solution in both types of cultures. Results indicated that the (14)C-acetic acid absorbed by rice plant through its root would be very small. Most of the (14)C-acetic acid was transformed into gaseous forms either in the culture solution or rhizosphere. A relatively longer time would be needed to assimilate (14)C derived from acetic acid to grain parts after it was once absorbed by the shoot through the root. Availability of (14)C for the plant in sand culture was considered to be decreased compared with that for the plant in the hydroponics experiment. It was suggested that rice plant absorbed and assimilated (14)C through the plant roots not because of uptake of (14)C-acetic acid but because of uptake of (14)C in gaseous forms such as (14)CO(2).

Migration of (14)C in the paddy soil-to-rice plant system after (14)C-acetic acid breakdown by microorganisms below the plow layer.

Migration of (14)C derived from (14)C-acetic acid was examined by using soils sampled from paddies in four administrative areas in Japan (Aomori, Yamanashi, Ehime and Okinawa) and rice plant in a tracer experiment to understand the fate of (14)C in the paddy soil-to-rice plant system. The loss of (14)C radioactivity levels derived from (14)C-acetic acid was caused by soil microorganism breakdown. A part of the (14)C fixation to soil was caused by microbial assimilation into the fatty acid fraction. (14)C moved upward via two different types of (14)C dynamics in soil: quick movement upward; and constant but slow movement upward. (14)C was highly assimilated into the plant panicle and that was caused by the root-uptake and the transfer of (14)C. Migration of (14)C derived from (14)C-acetic acid relied heavily upon changes of chemical forms and characteristics of (14)C-compound as caused by microorganisms in soil.