Abstract
GOSSYPOL, a toxic phenol, occurs primarily in the resin glands of cotton seed but also has been isolated from the tap-root bark of the cotton plant1. A study of the distribution of gossypol in the cotton plant revealed that the roots, especially the feeder roots, contained high levels of gossypol. This was true for strains of cotton in which the plants and seed were free of resin glands as well as for strains which contained many glands in plants and seed. The high levels of gossypol in the roots and the minute amounts in the seed of the glandless plants suggest that the gossypol was synthesized in the root tissue.
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References
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SMITH, F. Biosynthesis of Gossypol by Excised Cotton Roots. Nature 192, 888–889 (1961). https://doi.org/10.1038/192888a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/192888a0
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