[Changes of glyco- and phospholipid contents during leaf senescence]

The glyco- and phospholipid levels in green, green-yellow and yellow leaves of Impatients balsamina L., Daucus carota L. and Cucurbita pepo L. were determined on a leaf area basis. In Fagus silvatica L. leaves the kinetics of lipid breakdown during autumnal senescence was analysed. It was shown that yellow tissues still contain 40% to 50% of galactolipids and 50% to 60% of phospholipids present in green tissues. In the early stages of senescence of autumnal Fagus leaves we found a more rapid decline in the levels of the galactolipids and of the phospholipids phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylcholine, whereas in the later stages the breakdown of these lipids is slower than that of chlorophyll. The last yellow stage still contains 30% of the galactolipids and about 23% of the phospholipids present in fully greened leaves. Phosphatidylinositol shows a different behavior during senescence.