Phytochemistry, 1972, Vol. 11, pp. 3181 to 3185. PergamonPress. Printedin England. zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWV INHIBITION OF GERMINATION IN CICER ARIETINUM* A. K. SRIVASTAVA, S. AZHAR and C. R. KRISHNA MURTI Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, India (Received 3 January 1972. Accepted 23 May 1972) Key Word Index-C&r arietinum; Leguminosae; inhibition of germination; cycloheximide; Gazaadenine; reversal of germination inhibition; cyclic AMP; adenosine. Abstract-8-Azadenine, cycloheximide, rn-ethionine and pfluorophenylalanine inhibited the germination of Cicer arietinum. Inhibition by 8-azaadenine was reversed by either adenosine, cyclic-3’,5’-AMP or indole- 3-acetic acid. Inhibition by cycloheximide was not reversible by any of the agents tested. Degradation of reserve proteins, polysaccharides and phosphates which occurred during germination was also inhibited by these agents. When seeds were exposed to inhibitors during imbibition, the induction of proteases, amylase, phosphatase and peroxidase activities that occurred during germination was inhibited, indicating that these enzymes appeared in seedlings by de dovo synthesis. INTRODUCTION THERE is evidence that the loss of proteins, polysaccharides and bound phosphates of Cicer arietinum during germination is accompanied by activation of enzymes which mediate the degradation of the polymers. l In order to gain some insight into the regulatory mechanism of such activity, the effect of a number of well known protein inhibitors have been studied during the germination of this legume. TABLE 1. EFFECT OF INHIBITORS OF MACROMOLECULAR SYNTHESIS ON THE GERMINATION OF C. arietinum SEEDS Addition to germinating medium None 3.0 5.0 10.0 13.1 15.2 p-Fluorophenylalanine* (10e3 M) 1.8 3.0 5.0 8.0 8.8 p_Fluorophenylalaninet (10m3 M) 1.0 2.5 4.5 7.0 7.5 None 2.8 5.5 9.0 140 15.5 DL-Ethionine (10e3 M) 2.0 4.0 6.0 7.0 7.5 I-Azaadenine (10e3 M) 0 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.3 Cycloheximide (10V3 M) 0 0 0 0 0 Embryo length (cm) at following periods of germination (hr) 48 72 96 120 144 + Seed imbibed for 5 hr. t Present throughout germination. RESULTS Effect of Inhibitors on Embryo Growth The effect of a number of inhibitors on the germination of C. arietinum are shown in Table 1. In the presence of 8-azaadenine (lo- 3 M) or cycloheximide (lo- 3 M) embryo * Communication No. 1697 from the Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, India. r S. AZHAR, A. K. SRNASTAVA and C. R. KRISHNA MURTI, Phytochem. 11,3173 (1972). 3181