Discrete Proteins Associated with Overwintering of Spruce and Douglas-fir Seedlings
Seasonal protein changes were followed in seedlings of interior spruce (a mixture of Picea glauca and P. engelmannii) and Douglas-fir (Pseudostuga menziessi) by SDS-PAGE. In see-dlings of Douglas-fir a 30 kD protein and interior spruce a 30 and 27 kD protein that were not detected in the late summer, accumu-lated in seedling tissues during the fall. These proteins remained present throughout the winter, but declined rapidly in seedlings during the initial flush of spring growth. There was an increase in the total protein content of interior spruce seedling tissues during the fall, however, the accumulation of the 30 and 27 kD protein was tissue-specific since it increased in the apical bud, shoot and root tissue but not in the leaves. By late fall these proteins represented approximately 15% of the total seedling protein. These results suggest that conifer seedlings may utilize proteins as a storage reserve during overwintering. The potential of utilizing these “vegetative storage” proteins as biochemical markers of seedling quality is discussed.
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Author(s): Dane R. Roberts, Peter Toivonen, Stephanie M. McInnis
Publication: National Nursery Proceedings - 1990
Event:
Combined Meeting of the Western Forest Nursery Associations
1990 - Roseburg, OR
