Quantitative Determination of Certain Nucleic Acid Derivatives in Pea Root Exudate.

The presence of some amino acids and nucleic acid derivatives in the exudates from peas and roots of pea seedlings was demonstrated with the aid of appropriate, nutritionally deficient Ophiostoma mutants. A combined chromatographic and microbiological technique enabled a quantitative determination of certain nucleic acid constituents in the exudates from excised roots of pea seedlings. The amounts exuded from each root (dry weigh: 5.0 mg) during five hours in distilled water were: adenine 1.5 μg, guanine 1.3 μg, and uridine + cytidine 2.0 μg. These substances cannot be assumed to account for more than c. 25 per cent of the UV-absorbing material moving in the chromatogram, and c. 6 per cent of the total amount of UV-absorbing material present in the exudates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]