Boron deficiency in cultured pine cells : quantitative studies of the interaction with ca and mg

A pronounced interaction between calcium, magnesium, and boron was found in growth studies with Pinus radiata cell cultures. Quantitative isoactivity data for the interaction was analyzed in terms of selected simple and plausible theoretical models. The data was found to be consistent with a model in which a critical acceptor molecule is activated only by binding both Ca and B at separate sites; Mg competitively displaces Ca to inactivate the acceptor. It was found that B is, surprisingly, not bound strongly (K(diss) = 450 +/- 80 micromolar) and that the affinity for Ca is two orders of magnitude stronger than for Mg. Therefore only a small proportion of the acceptor will be boronated under natural conditions. Moderate levels of mannitol were found to aggravate B deficiency due to its effective removal by direct chemical complexation. At higher concentrations of mannitol (or other sugars), where osmotic contribution is significant, little B was needed to overcome growth inhibition-a result consistent with B having a primary role in cell wall biosynthesis.