Determination of progesterone in vegetative organs and cell organelles of Convallaria majalis L. by radioimmunoassay.

Progesterone was extracted from leaves and subterranean parts of Convallaria majalis L. and quantified by radioimmunoassay. During the stage of flowering the content of progesterone in rhizomes was by a factor of four higher than in leaves and by a factor of ten higher than in roots, whereas five weeks later the level of progesterone was unchanged in rhizomes and roots but was elevated in the leaves. The change in progesterone distribution is discussed in relation to the development of the plants. At the subcellular level the mitochondrial and microsomal fractions contained the largest quantity of progesterone in leaf cells. However, significant amounts were also found in the 2000xg fraction comprising nuclei and chloroplasts.