Increased Production of Ethylene by Plant Tissues Treated with 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic Acid1

Abstract

Ethylene production of tissues excised from root, stem, leaf, inflorescence, and fruit of 16 plant species greatly increased following the application of 1-aminocyclopropane-1 carboxylic acid (ACC), an intermediate in the conversion of methionine to ethylene. Treatment with 1 mM ACC invariably increased the rate of ethylene production 10 to 1000 times over controls, whereas methionine at the same concentration was ineffective. Treatment with 0.1 mM ACC consistently increased ethylene production in all of the tissues tested, although only a few tissues responded to 0.01 mM.