TITLE	Root sugar level in luffa and bitter melon is not referential to their flooding tolerance
AUTHOR	Pai Hsiang Su Department of Botany, National Chung-Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan 40227, Republic of China Tsui Hui Wu Department of Botany, National Chung-Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan 40227, Republic of China Chin-Ho Lin Department of Botany, National Chung-Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan 40227, Republic of China
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ABSTRACT	The effects of soil flooding for 8 days on root and leaf carbohydrate levels in relation to flooding tolerance in two cucurbitaceous plants: luffa (Luffa cylindrica Roem. cv. Cylinder #2), a flood-tolerant species, and bitter melon (Momordica charantia L. cv. New Known You #3), a flood-intolerant species, were investigated. With flooding, the levels of starch in luffa and bitter melon roots decreased rapidly, indicating that root starch was readily mobilized under flooding conditions. Significant accumulation of leaf starch was observed only in the intolerant bitter melon suggesting reduced phloem transport. Sucrose and hexose (glucose and fructose) levels in flooded roots of both species increased several fold with initial flooding, and were maintained at a higher level than those of non-flooded control during the flooding period. These results implied that starch accumulation in leaves does not result in the deficiency of sugar in flooded roots, and root sugar level is not critical for the flooding tolerance of luffa and bitter melon.
KEYWORD	Bitter melon; Carbohydrates; Flooding tolerance; Luffa cylindrica; Momordica charantia;
ARTICLE INFO	Botanical Bulletin of Academia Sinica, Volume 39 Number 3 July 1998, page 175-179, 5 pages
PUBLISHER	Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China