Protease activity, organisation of vegetative primordia and effect of putrescine in tobacco thin layers

Since in tobacco thin layers exogenous putrescine alters the physiological and mor‐phogenic responses induced by IAA (indole‐3‐acetic acid) and/or BA (benzylade‐nine), the effect of this polyamine on protease activity and on the formation of meristemoids and vegetative primordia was studied during morphogenesis. Superficial thin layer explants, excised from the stem of tobacco ( Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Samsun) plants in the vegetative stage, were cultured under various hormonal conditions (IAA, IAA+BA, BA) and in a hormone‐free medium, in the presence or absence of 100 μ M putrescine. Histological analysis showed that no meristemoids were formed on the control medium or with putrescine alone and only a few were formed on IAA‐treated explants with or without putrescine. An increasing number of meristemoids was observed in IAA+BA and BA treatments during culture; in both cases this number was enhanced by the presence of exogenous putrescine. Protease activity was evaluated spectrophotometrically using two synthetic substrates, azocasein and N‐benzoyl‐DL‐arginine‐ p ‐nitroanilide (BAPNA). In the former, maximum protease activity was observed in IAA+BA‐ and BA‐treated explants on days 10 and 15, respectively, while with IAA activity was lowest, the maximum occurring on days 5–10. In this case exogenous putrescine enhanced protease activity in the presence of IAA alone or with BA, while it decreased it in the presence of BA. BAPNA‐mediated proteolytic activity (serine‐proteases) was highest in IAA+BA‐treated explants, intermediate in BA‐ and not different from controls in IAA‐treated explants. Putrescine only affected proteolytic activity in IAA+BA treatments. The use of specific inhibitors of protease activities indicated that these enzymes belong to two main classes of proteases, that is serine‐ and thiol‐proteases. The pattern of proteolytic activities during culture appeared to be related to the differentiation of meristemoids into vegetative primordia. The effect of exogenous putrescine on protease activity was different depending on different synthetic substrates, developmental patterns, pH and ionic strength.