Changes in Protein Contents and Activities of Proteolytic Enzymes in Medicago sativa During Regrowth

An expreiment with non-nodulating alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) plants was designed to investigate the changes in protein contents and the activities of proteolytic enzymes during a regrowth period of 24 d. Shoot removal caused a depression of root growth and significantly reduced protein contents in roots. An initial decline of root proteins for the first 10 d was followed by a rapid recovery from d 11 to 24. The major increase of regrowing shoot weight occurred also from d 11. The activities of aminopeptidase and endoprotease slightly decreased in regrowing leaves, while protein contents remains stable after shoot removal. Roots exhibited source behaviour with a rapid increase of endoprotease activities for the first 10 d of regrowth; about a 370% increase over the initial level was observed. Increase in endoprotease activity in roots coincided with the time of protein remobilization after shoot removal, indicating the important role of endoproteases in protein degradation.