Effects of cytokinins on the respiration of soybean callus tissue.

A technique which incorporates a brief blending step to disperse callus tissue into small clumps of cells was developed, and the effects of cytokinins on respiration of soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merrill var. Acme) callus tissue prepared in this way were studied. Adenine alone did not affect respiration, but kinetin and zeatin showed effects correlating with their reported effects on growth of this tissue; after about 3 hours both hormones promoted respiration at concentrations which promote growth, while kinetin, but not zeatin, also exhibited inhibition at higher concentrations. Studies with 2,4-dinitrophenol led to the suggestion that although the respiration of this tissue is largely under the control of ATP levels, kinetin does not exert its control on respiration through effects on ATP levels or oxidative phosphorylation during the monitoring period. Further inhibitor and substrate studies provided evidence that the promotion of respiration by kinetin results from an increase in substrate entering the tricarboxylic acid cycle, perhaps by an effect on pyruvate metabolism.The inhibition of respiration by high concentrations of kinetin is partially due to effects on oxidative phosphorylation or ATP utilization, but 70% of the inhibition cannot be attributed to this.