Abstract

This paper originates from a presentation at the International Conference on Assimilate Transport and Partitioning, Newcastle, NSW, August 1999

In order to investigate the roles of different cell types, metabolite compartmentation in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) leaf tissue was mapped at the single-cell level, using single-cell sampling and analysis (SiCSA) techniques. The partitioning of recently fixed photoassimilate was investigated for the first time at single-cell resolution, using BAMS (biological accelerator mass spectroscopy) for precise measurement of ¹⁴C in femtomole quantities. The data obtained by BAMS qualitatively reflect concentrations of sugars in different cell types measured by SiCSA. Calculation of ¹⁴C-specific activities showed that the radioactive label saturated the mesophyll and parenchymatous bundle sheath (PBS) pools within the 45-min labelling period. During the photoperiod, sucrose concentration increased to 200 mM in mesophyll cells. The concentration of malate also increased during the photoperiod in mesophyll and PBS cells. Epidermal cells contained very low concentrations of sugar but high concentrations of malate (120–180 mM) and did not show significant diurnal changes. Accumulation of sugars and fructan synthesis could be induced in mesophyll and PBS cells by reduced export of sugars from leaves or, alternatively, when sugars were supplied from excised leaf blade bases immersed in a sucrose solution in the dark. The epidermis accumulated additional malate in step with the accumulation of sugar by the mesophyll/PBS cells during the long-term reduction of export. Immunolocalisation of Rubisco and cytochrome oxidase proteins was used to analyse the distribution of enzymes of photoassimilation and respiration between functionally different cells in mature leaves of barley.