Inhibition of the Development of Induced Respiration and Cyanide-insensitive Respiration in Potato Tuber Slices by Cerulenin and Dimethylaminoethanol

Abstract

The interdependence of the development of wound-induced respiration and membrane-related phospholipid biosynthesis in potato tuber (Solanum tuberosum cv. Russet) slices was established by the use of agents which selectively affect lipid and phospholipid synthesis. Cerulenin, a specific inhibitor of de novo fatty acid synthesis, inhibited the ultimate development of wound-induced respiration and of cyanide resistance only when given in the critical first 10-12 h of slice aging. When slices were exposed to the choline analog dimethylaminoethanol within the first 10 h, the phospholipid composition of the membrane lipids was drastically altered, the wound-induced respiration in a 24 h period was substantially curtailed and the development of cyanide insensitivity was sharply inhibited. These observations indicate that time-restricted membrane-related phospholipid synthesis is prerequisite to the development of wound-induced respiration and concurrent cyanide insensitivity.