Contribution of Arginine to Proline Accumulation in Water-stressed Barley Leaves.

Barley (Hordeum vulgare cv Prior) leaves converted l-U-(14)C-arginine to labeled proline. Accumulation of radioactivity in proline was greater in wilted leaves, but only after 9 hours of incubation. As the increase in free proline was detectable after only 3 to 6 hours, it is likely that the observed stimulation of proline labeling represents a result rather than a cause of proline accumulation. Furthermore, the loss of total arginine during water stress was only 10 to 15% of the increase in proline. We conclude that arginine probably contributes less than 1% of the carbon in the expanding proline pool of wilted barley leaves.