Formation of cyanide from carbon 1 of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid during its conversion to ethylene

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) is the immediate precursor of ethylene, which is derived from C-2 and C-3 of ACC. When [1-14C]ACC was administered to etiolated mungbean (Vigna radiata) hypocotyls, .apprxeq. 16% of the ACC was converted to ethylene and about 10% of the radioactivity was converted to [14C]asparagine in 7 h. In etiolated epicotyls of common vetch (Vicia sativa), after 7 h about 14% of the ACC was converted to ethylene and 16% of the radioactivity was converted to .beta.-cyanoalanine plus .gamma.-glutamyl-.beta.-cyanoalanine. In most plants cyanide is metabolized to asparagine via the intermediate .beta.-cyanoalanine, whereas in a few plants such as V. sativa, .beta.-cyanoalanine is converted to the conjugate .gamma.-glutamyl-.beta.-cyanoalanine. [14C]Cyanide was metabolized into [14C]asparagine in mungbean and into [14C]cyanoalanine plus its conjugate in V. sativa. Moreover, after feeding plant tissue with [1-14C]ACC, [14C]asparagine isolated from mungbean and .beta.-[14C]cyanoalanine from V. sativa were labeled in the C-4 position, as would be expected if these 2 compounds were derived from [14C]cyanide. When the conversion of ACC to ethylene in V. sativa tissue was inhibited by high temperature (41.degree. C), the conversion of [1-14C]ACC to .beta.-[14C]cyanoalanine and .gamma.-glutamyl-.beta.-[14C]cyanoalanine was similarly inhibited. When [carboxyl-14C]ACC was administered to mungbean and V. sativa, 14CO2 was recovered in an amount equivalent to the amount of ethylene produced. In the conversion of ACC to ethylene the carboxyl group yields CO2, and C-1 is released as HCN.