Post-wounding changes in the oxygen consumption by slices from tubers of several potato cultivars

Summary Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivars differed markedly in their susceptibility to autolysis during the post-wounding period. Slices from cultivars susceptible to autolysis showed higher respiration rates than those sampled from resistant cultivars. The higher oxygen consumption of these cultivars was inhibited by imidazole. Application of the respiration inhibitors, KCN and SHAM, to the slices showed that the capacity of the alternative electron transport pathway was relatively high during the post-wounding period in fresh slices of cultivars resistant to autolysis. The capacity of that pathway was near zero in the susceptible tissues. Aging promoted the development of KCN-resistant respiration in both types of cultivars.