Cytokinin Effect on Protein Synthesis in Vivo in Higher Plants

The influence of naphthalene-1-acetic acid and kinetin on protein synthesis in vivo was investigated by measuring the incorporation of radioactive amino acids into polypeptides of synthesizing polysomes. The second subculture of sterile pith tissue of Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Wisconsin 38 grown on a medium containing only a minimum of growth substances was further starved in a small volume of medium lacking auxin and cytokinin for 12 h. An incubation period of 4 h with [(14)C]amino acids followed. The last 30 min of those incubations were carried out in the presence of actinomycin D and the last 20 min were performed under different conditions: a) without any growth substances, b) with naphthalene-l-acetic acid, c) with kinetin. By measuring the differences of the specific radioactivities of the polysomes the following results were revealed: 1) Kinetin increases the protein synthesis by an average of 35%-2) Auxin has no effect on protein synthesis.