Effect of jasmonic acid-methyl ester on the composition of carbohydrates and germination of yellow lupine (Lupinus luteus L.) seeds.

Mature seeds of yellow lupine contained sucrose, raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs), and galactosyl cyclitols as major soluble carbohydrates. The study showed that RFOs dominated in lupine seeds (16% DW). The disappearance of both types of alpha-d-galactosides in germinating lupine seeds was strongly inhibited by the presence of jasmonic acid-methyl ester (JA-Me) at a concentration of 10(-3)M in the incubation medium. JA-Me inhibited the activity of alpha-D-galactosidase (fraction I) during seed germination. Anatomical studies of lupine roots have shown certain cell structure differences between control and JA-Me-treated seedlings. The cross-sections of plant roots treated with JA-Me showed a characteristic folding of the cell walls in all root tissues, starting from the rhyzodermis, cortex and vascular cylinder. In water-treated (control) plants, the cell walls were rounded with no folding.