EFFECT OF STRESS AND SENESCENCE ON CARBON PARTITIONING IN STORED POTATOES

1. Cold sweetening of potato tubers is a complex metabolic process influenced by several levels of cellular regulation. 2. Metabolic events which confer a high or low sugar nature to genetically diverse potato clones must be distinguished from those events which occur in a non-limiting fashion. 3. The intracellular compartmentalization of Pi, influenced by stress action, may be important in regulating carbon partitioning in potato tubers. 4. The fine regulation of sucrose 6-P synthase may be more critical than its coarse regulation in determining a potato clone's gluconeogenic ability. 5. The metabolic production of the key substrate UDPglucose by UDPglucose pyrophosphorylase may determine differential rates of sweetening observed between high and low sugar potato clones. © 1990 Springer.