Isolation and identification of an anti-bolting compound, hexadecatrienoic acid monoglyceride, responsible for inhibition of bolting and maintenance of the leaf rosette in radish plants.

Generally, the bolting (stem elongation from rosette plants) of winter annuals is believed to be induced by an increase in the levels of gibberellin that occurs after a certain period of chilling (vernalization), and a deficiency of gibberellin allows the plant to maintain a rosette style. Lack of direct evidence proving the above assumption in radish plants (Raphanus sativus L.) encouraged us to assume the presence of an anti-bolting compound actively maintaining the rosette habit through inhibition of bolting. Anti-bolting activity was detected in an extract of rosette shoots of radish plants by an assay using seedlings cultured in vitro. The causal compound that strongly inhibited bolting was isolated and identified as alpha-(7Z,10Z,13Z)-hexadecatrienoic acid monoglyceride (16:3 monoglyceride). This compound did not inhibit leaf production at the apical meristem, indicating that it merely inhibits growth at the internode. The compound disappeared completely after vernalization, and bolting occurred thereafter. The results suggest that the release from inhibition by 16:3 monoglyceride induces the initiation of bolting. The possible mechanism by which the compound exerts the activity is discussed.