The aim of this work was to test the effect of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in a commercial baker's yeast form, on the activity and changes in the electrophoretic pattern of peroxidase in maize and sorghum leaves. The yeast treatment included spray of cell suspensions and their filtrates, autoclaved or not, which were able to cause changes in the peroxidase activity and electrophoretic pattern in maize and sorghum. Besides being thermostable, the extracts from intact or homogenized S. cerevisiae cells exhibited low peroxidase activity, indicating that the changes in the enzyme, activity and pattern, were due only to the plant tissue. Finally, the results suggest that the changes in peroxidase in maize and sorghum leaves in response to the treatment with S. cerevisiae, indicate a possible recognition of the yeast cells or their metabolites by these plants.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae; peroxidase; electrophoresis; maize; sorghum
