FRUCTOSYLTRANSFERASE ACTIVITIES IN THE LEAF GROWTH ZONE OF TALL FESCUE

High concentrations of water-soluble carbohydrates, mainly fructan, accumulate in the growth zone of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) leaf blades. We studied sucrose-hydrolyzing activities in the leaf growth zone because of their importance in carbohydrate partitioning. Sucrose hydrolysis in the basal 1.5 cm was largely due to fructosyltransferases, which had activities up to 10 times higher than in fully developed leaf tissue. Three fructosyltransferases (F1, F2, and F3) were purified from the leaf growth zone. Each synthesized, from either sucrose or 1-kestose, a mixture of trisaccharides and higher-order oligofructans identical with the low-degree of polymerization fructan extracted from similar plant tissue. The highly purified fructosyltransferases retained ability (13%) to transfer fructose from sucrose to water. Time-dependent and substrate-dependent studies, using sucrose as the substrate, showed proportional production of fructose and glucose, indicating that both products are from the same enzyme. Fructosyltransferase was calculated to contribute about half the total transfer of fructose to water in the basal 1.5 cm. Invertase activity increased to near 2.0 cm when fructosyl transfer to sucrose and other oligofructans decreased. Invertase was the major activity for sucrose hydrolysis at positions distal to 3.0 cm.