Abstract: The increase in ATP and E.C. in the mung bean axes during imbibi- tion was accompanied by an increase in the rate of protein synthesis. When the axes were treated with 5×l0-5 M, and 5×10-4M 2,4-Dinitrophenol at the first 4 hours of imbibition respectively, the production of ATP was inhibited, and the E.C. value decreased; at the same time, the incorporation of 3H-leucine into the trichloroacetic acidinsoluble protein was inhibited also. CCCP (1×10-5M and 1×10-4M) had a similar effect as DNP on mung bean axes. Incubated with 0.2 μg. ml-1 cycloheximide for 4 hours, the protein synthsized reduced by 69% compared to the control, the ATP and E. C. were slightly higher than the untreated one; while incubated with 1 μg and 5 μg cycloheximide, the protein synthesis almost stopped, the content of ATP decreased slightly, and E. C. value remained constant. When the mung bean axes were incubated with 1 μg, and 10 μg. ml-1 of actinomycin D for 4 hours, the protein synthesis was inhibited 23%, and 48% respectively. On the other hand, ATP, E. C. and the adenylate pool were not affected. These results showed that protein synthesis in mung bean axes during im- bibition was highly sensitive to the changes of ATP level and E. C. value. In contrast, adenylate pool was not affected by the actinomycin D.

Key words: Axes imbibition, Protein synthesis, ATP level, energy charge