Metabolism of Aromatic Acids in Plant Cell Suspension Cultures*

Abstract
Conjugation reactions of benzoic–, α-naphthylacetic–, phenylacetic– and α-naphthylcarboxylic acid were investigated in cell suspension cultures of Glycine max and Nicotiana sylvestris. Upon uptake, the acids are first converted to their glucoseesters with subsequent transfer of the acyl moieties to either malate, oligoglucoside or aspartate. The latter conjugates are metabolically stable endproducts diluted out of the cells by growth. The data are discussed with regard to species specificity, detoxification mechanisms and auxin metabolism.