GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF PINEAPPLE (ANANAS COMOSUS L.) PLANTLETS CULTURED IN VITRO AT ENRICHED AND AMBIENT CO₂ ENVIRONMENTS

Chlorophyll containing plantlets, in vitro, can utilize CO₂ as a carbon source, when provided with adequate light intensity.
Pineapple (Ananas comosus) plants grown on sugarless medium, but provided with an enriched CO₂ environment, developed similar to plants grown on sugar containing mediumin ambient levels of CO₂. On sugarless mediumin ambient concentration of CO₂ chlorotic and poor plants were developed.

Whereas plants grown at high photon flux density of 70 μE. m^-2.s^-1 in CO₂ enriched environment were green containing high levels of chlorophyll, at ambient concentration of CO₂ the plants were yellow, containing low concentration of chlorophyll.

Radiolabelled carbon feeding for 12 h resulted in more accumulation in the leaves of plants which were raised on sugarless compared to sugar containing media.
The activity of PEP-C and Rubisco in the leaves of plants growing at ambient temperature was higher in sugarless compared to sugar containing media.
This sugar/enzyme activity relationship was reversed when plants were maintained in an enriched CO₂ environment.

At ambient levels of CO₂, the rate of multiplication was significantly higher when propagules were grown with sucrose compared to sugarless cultures.
However, when sucrose was omitted, at high concentration of CO₂ plants exhibited a similar rate of multiplication as compared to plants grown on sucrose but maintained at ambient levels of CO₂.

The results are discussed in terms of theeffect of CO₂ on photosynthesis and generation of free radicals.

International Symposium on Biotechnology of Tropical and Subtropical Species Part 2

S. Mayak, T. Tirosh, A. Ilan, A. Duvdevani, E. Khayat

Autotrophic, Heterotrophic, CO₂ assimilation, PEP-C, Rubisco

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1998.461.23