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. 1982 Jul;70(1):117–121. doi: 10.1104/pp.70.1.117

Recycling of 5′-Methylthioadenosine-Ribose Carbon Atoms into Methionine in Tomato Tissue in Relation to Ethylene Production

S Y Wang 1, D O Adams 1, M Lieberman 1
PMCID: PMC1067097  PMID: 16662429

Abstract

The ribose moiety of 5′-methylthioadenosine (MTA) is metabolized to form the four-carbon unit (2-aminobutyrate) of methionine in tomato tissue (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill., cv. Pik Red). When [U-14C-adenosine] MTA was administered to tomato tissue slices, label was recovered in 5-methylthioribose (MTR), methionine, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC), C2H4 and other unidentified compounds. However, when [U-14C-ribose]MTR was administered, radioactivities were recovered in methionine, ACC and C2H4, but not MTA. This suggests that C2H4 formed in tomato pericarp tissue may be derived from the ribose portion of MTA via MTR, methionine and ACC. The conversion of MTR to methionine is not inhibited by aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG), but is O2 dependent. These data present a new salvage pathway for methionine biosynthesis which may be important in relation to polyamine and ethylene biosynthesis in tomato tissue.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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