Enzyme activity changes in relation to internal browning of Raphanus roots sown early and late

Summary

Early sown radish seedlings were subjected to heat stress from the middle to late growth stage. Roots exhibiting internal browning (IB) were more prevalent in the susceptible cultivars whose seeds were sown early in the summer compared with those which were sown late. However, IB occurrence in the resistant ones was not nearly so marked regardless of the sowing date. In the IB susceptible cultivars, higher levels of L-phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activities were detected in roots from the early sown plot (ESP), but these enyzme inductions did not occur to a significant extent in the resistant ones. Roots suffering internal browning were also detected to have pronounced increases in ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity, but decreases in both dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR) and glutathione reductase (GHAR) activities. These observations strongly suggest that a decline in H₂O₂ decomposing capacity of the ascorbate-glutathione cycle by heat stress is responsible for the activation of H₂O₂ detoxyifying pathway derived from PPO.