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. 1979 Jan;63(1):169–173. doi: 10.1104/pp.63.1.169

Effect of Silver Ion, Carbon Dioxide, and Oxygen on Ethylene Action and Metabolism 1

Elmo M Beyer Jr a
PMCID: PMC542789  PMID: 16660673

Abstract

The relationship between ethylene action and metabolism was investigated in the etiolated pea seedling (Pisum sativum L. cv. Alaska) by inhibiting ethylene action with Ag+, high CO2, and low O2 and then determining if ethylene metabolism was inhibited in a similar manner. Ag+ (100 milligrams per liter) was clearly the most potent antiethylene treatment. Ag+ pretreatment inhibited the growth retarding action of 0.2 microliters per liter ethylene by 48% and it also inhibited the incorporation of 0.2 microliters per liter 14C2H4 into pea tips by the same amount. As the ethylene concentration was increased from 0.2 to 30 microliters per liter, the effectiveness of Ag+ in reducing ethylene action and metabolism declined in a similar fashion. Although Ag+ significantly inhibited the incorporation of 14C2H4 into tissue metabolites, the oxidation of 14C2H4 to 14CO2 was unaffected in the same tissue.

CO2 (7%) inhibited ethylene-induced growth retardation but its effectiveness diminished at a greater rate than that of Ag+ with increasing ethylene concentration. High CO2 had just the opposite effect of Ag+ since it inhibited 14C2H4 oxidation to 14CO2 without affecting tissue incorporation. In contrast to Ag+, CO2 did not inhibit ethylene action and metabolism to exactly the same extent, and the inhibition of metabolism did not rapidly decline with increasing 14C2H4 concentration. However, high CO2 did alter the ratio of 14C2H4 tissue incorporation to 14CO2 production in a manner consistent with changes in ethylene effectiveness.

Lowering the O2 concentration to 5% reduced ethylene-induced growth retardation from 70 to 58% at 0.22 microliters per liter and inhibited 14C2H4 (0.25 microliters per liter) tissue incorporation and oxidation to 14CO2 by 26 and 45%, respectively. However, in contrast to Ag+ and high CO2 which slightly promoted growth in ethylene-free air, low O2 reduced pea seedling growth under these conditions thereby severely limiting its usefulness as a specific antiethylene treatment.

Collectively these data suggest that the metabolism of ethylene may be related to its action.

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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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