DETECTION AND IDENTIFICATION OF GIBBERELLINS IN NEEDLES OF SILVER FIR(ABIES-ALBA MILL.) BY COMBINED GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY MASS-SPECTROMETRY

Extracts of mature silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) needles, current-year , and one-year old (A) and seven to nine-year old (B), were purified b y reversed and normal phase HPLC. Gibberellin (GA)-like compounds were detected by the Tan-ginbozu dwarf rice micro-drop bioassay and corres ponding fractions were analyzed by GC-MS. GA(9) was present in small a mounts, while a major component was a cellulase-hydrolysable GA(9) con jugate which was assumed to be GA(9) glucosyl ester. It is proposed th at GA(9) glucosyl ester plays a key role in the regulation of endogeno us GA levels in silver fir needles.