Abstract
Inhibition of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) fruit ripening by exogenously applied ethanol was shown to be caused by elevated endogenous levels of acetaldehyde (AA). Exposure of excised pericarp discs of mature-green tomato fruit to ethanol or AA vapors produced elevated levels of both compounds in the tissue, but only the levels of AA were associated with ripening inhibition. Ripening inhibition was dependent on both the applied concentration and the duration of exposure. Discs treated with inhibitory levels of AA had levels of ethanol that were elevated but below that associated with inhibition of ripening. The in vivo activity of alcohol dehydrogenase was inhibited 40 to 60% by 4-methylpyrazole (4-MP), a competitive inhibitor of this enzyme. The inhibitory effect of ethanol on ripening was reduced by the simultaneous application of 4-MP. Tissue treated with 4-MP plus AA vapors had higher endogenous levels of AA and ripening was inhibited longer than in tissue without 4-MP. The tissue AA level resulting from ethanol or AA application appears to be the critical determinant of ripening inhibition.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (940.5 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Campbell A. D., Huysamer M., Stotz H. U., Greve L. C., Labavitch J. M. Comparison of ripening processes in intact tomato fruit and excised pericarp discs. Plant Physiol. 1990 Dec;94(4):1582–1589. doi: 10.1104/pp.94.4.1582. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Chang L. A., Hammett L. K., Pharr D. M. Carbon dioxide effects on ethanol production, pyruvate decarboxylase, and alcohol dehydrogenase activities in anaerobic sweet potato roots. Plant Physiol. 1983 Jan;71(1):59–62. doi: 10.1104/pp.71.1.59. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- De Vries HSM., Harren FJM., Voesenek LACJ., Blom CWPM., Woltering E. J., Van Der Valk HCPM., Reuss J. Investigation of Local Ethylene Emission from Intact Cherry Tomatoes by Means of Photothermal Deflection and Photoacoustic Detection. Plant Physiol. 1995 Apr;107(4):1371–1377. doi: 10.1104/pp.107.4.1371. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Deitrich R. A., Troxell P. A., Worth W. S. Inhibition of aldehyde dehydrogenase in brain and liver by cyanamide. Biochem Pharmacol. 1976 Dec 15;25(24):2733–2737. doi: 10.1016/0006-2952(76)90265-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Donaldson R. P., Soochan P., Zaras A. Anaerobic stress in germinating castor bean, ethanol metabolism, and effects on subcellular organelles. Plant Physiol. 1985 Apr;77(4):978–983. doi: 10.1104/pp.77.4.978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kelly M. O., Saltveit M. E. Effect of endogenously synthesized and exogenously applied ethanol on tomato fruit ripening. Plant Physiol. 1988 Sep;88(1):143–147. doi: 10.1104/pp.88.1.143. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kimmerer T. W., Kozlowski T. T. Ethylene, Ethane, Acetaldehyde, and Ethanol Production By Plants under Stress. Plant Physiol. 1982 Apr;69(4):840–847. doi: 10.1104/pp.69.4.840. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- MacDonald R. C., Kimmerer T. W. Metabolism of Transpired Ethanol by Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides Bartr.). Plant Physiol. 1993 May;102(1):173–179. doi: 10.1104/pp.102.1.173. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Oppenheim A., Castelfranco P. A. An acetaldehyde dehydrogenase from germinating seeds. Plant Physiol. 1967 Jan;42(1):125–132. doi: 10.1104/pp.42.1.125. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Perata P., Alpi A. Ethanol-induced injuries to carrot cells : the role of acetaldehyde. Plant Physiol. 1991 Mar;95(3):748–752. doi: 10.1104/pp.95.3.748. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Theorell H., Yonetani T., Sjöberg B. On the effects of some heterocyclic compounds on the enzymic activity of liver alcohol dehydrogenase. Acta Chem Scand. 1969;23(1):255–260. doi: 10.3891/acta.chem.scand.23-0255. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]