Regulation by sulfhydryl groups of glyceollin accumulation in soybean hypocotyls.

Hypocotyls of 5-d-old etiolated soybean seedlings (Glycine max (L.) Merr. cv. Altona) were treated with (a) dithiothreitol (DTT) or one of the sulfhydryl-binding reagents N-ethylmaleimide (NEM), p-hydroxymercuribenzoate (PMB) und p-chloromercuribenzene sulfonic acid (PMBS), (b) one of the sulfhydryl reagents in combination with DTT, (c) sulfhydryl reagent subsequent to treatment with DTT, and (d) PMBS followed by DTT. Glyceollin was extracted 24 and 48 h after initiation of treatment. The order of decreasing glyceollin-eliciting activity was PMBS≫DTT>PMB≧NEM. Elicitor effectiveness of sulfhydryl reagents and their reactivity with either L-cysteine or sulfhydryl groups in soybean hypocotyls were not strictly correlated. Mixtures of sulfhydryl reagent and DTT, pretreatment of hypocotyls with DTT and subsequent application of either PMB or PMBS, as well as application of PMBS prior to DTT induced less glyceollin than sulfhydryl reagents alone. In contrast, such pretreatment did not appreciably alter glyceollin accumulation elicited by NEM. The results indicate that glyceollin synthesis can be regulated by interaction with sulfhydryl groups located mainly at the outer surface of the plasmalemma.