Isolation and Analysis of Soluble Oligosaccharides Stimulating Root Formation from Pea Shoots

O. A. Zabotina,^1,2 O. P. Gurjanov,¹ D. A. Ayupova,¹ V. V. Lozovaya,¹ G. Beldman,³ and A. G. J. Voragen³

¹Kazan Institute of Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 30, Kazan, 420503, Russia.

²To whom correspondence should be addressed.

³Wageningen Agricultural University, Bomenweg 2, 6703 HD Wageningen, The Netherlands.

Submitted January 30, 1997; revision submitted April 11, 1997.

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The fraction of soluble oligosaccharides stimulating root formation in buckwheat thin-cell-layer explants was isolated from pea shoots. Subsequent separation by gel permeation chromatography on a Biogel P-4 column and high performance anion-exchange chromatography on a CarboPac PA 100 column yielded a fraction containing only four fragments; the fraction stimulated root formation at 100-fold lower concentration versus the initial oligosaccharide fraction. The fragments include glucose, galactose, mannose, and xylose and comprise oligomers of galactan, xylan, and galactoglucomannan, one of which may be responsible for the biological activity of the fraction.

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KEY WORDS: Pisum sativum L., soluble oligosaccharides, stimulation of root formation.

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