Abstract
In tulips (Tulipa gesneriana L. cv. Apeldoorn), methyl jasmonate (JA-Me) induced gums mainly consisting of glucuronoarabinoxylans. The purpose of this study is to know the mechanism of gummosis induced by JA-Me, especially on the focus of sugar metabolism and ethylene production. Application of JA-Me as a lanolin paste to tulip stem induced gums 5 days after application, and ethephon applied simultaneously enhanced it although ethephon alone had little effect. Ethylene production was increased up to 6 times by JA-Me at day-1 after application. JA-Me strongly decreased the total amount of soluble sugars of tulip stems even in 1 day after application, being ca. 50 % of initial values at day-5. JA-Me little affected neutral sugar compositions consisting of arabinose, xylose and glucose in ratio of 1:2:120. Ethephon little affected the total amounts of sugars and their compositions. These results suggest that JA-Me induces gums by affecting sugar metabolism in tulips.
