GIBBERELLIC-ACID STIMULATES ACID INVERTASE SECRETION IN PEA OVARY PROTOPLASTS

Protoplasts purified from mesocarp of nonpollinated pea (Pisum sativum L.) ovaries released acid invertase to the incubation medium. The association of the acid invertase with microsomal fractions, and the sensitivity to energy-metabolism inhibitors and to tunicamycin, indicated the secretory nature of the release process. In the presence of GA3 (10-mu-M), the protoplasts increased their invertase secretion at about 60 min, this effect being counteracted by tunicamycin but not by cycloheximide. Subcellular fractionation of GA3-treated protoplasts showed that higher invertase secretion was the result of a promotion of invertase transfer from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to Golgi apparatus.