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. 1978 Jan;61(1):111–114. doi: 10.1104/pp.61.1.111

Inhibition of Ethylene Production in Penicillium digitatum 1

Edo Chalutz 1,2, Morris Lieberman 1
PMCID: PMC1091808  PMID: 16660221

Abstract

Production of ethylene by static cultures of Penicillium digitatum, which utilize glutamate and α-ketoglutarate as ethylene precursors, was inhibited by methionine, methionine sulfoxide, methionine sulfone, and methionine sulfoximine. Rhizobitoxine did not affect ethylene production but its ethoxy and methoxy analogues were effective inhibitors of ethylene production; its saturated methoxy analogue and kainic acid stimulated ethylene production. Tracer studies showed that the inhibitors blocked the conversion of [3H]glutamate into [3H]ethylene.

In shake cultures of this fungus, which utilize methionine as the ethylene precursor, rhizobitoxine and its unsaturated analogues all inhibited, while the saturated methoxy analogue stimulated ethylene production. In both types of cultures inhibition was irreversible and was diminished by increasing concentrations of the ethylene precursor. The inhibitory activity or lack of it by rhizobitoxine and its analogues appears to be a function of their structural resemblance to glutamate and methionine as well as of their size and stereoconfiguration. These data suggest similarities between the ethylene-forming system in the fungus and in higher plants despite differences in precursors under some cultural conditions.

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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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