Transport of amino acids to the maize root.

When 5-mm maize root tips were excised and placed in an inorganic salts solution for 6 hours, there was a loss of alcohol-insoluble nitrogen. The levels of threonine, proline, valine, isoleucine, leucine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, and lysine in the alcohol soluble fraction were severely reduced, whereas those of glutamate, aspartate, ornithine, and alanine were scarcely affected. There was a 4-fold increase in the level of gamma-aminobutyrate. Those amino acids whose synthesis appeared to be deficient in excised root tips also showed poor incorporation of acetate carbon. In addition, the results show that asparagine and the amino acids of the neutral and basic fraction were preferentially transported to the root tip region. The results therefore suggest that the synthesis of certain amino acids in the root tip region is restricted, and that this requirement for amino acids in the growing region could regulate the flow of amino acids to the root tip.