Abstract
Combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry has been used to identify indole-3-ethanol (IEt) in a purified extract from needles of Pinus sylvestris L. Quantitative estimates obtained by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection, corrected for samples losses occurring during purification, indicate that Pinus needles contain 46±4 ng g-1 IEt. This compares with 24.5±6.5 ng g-1 indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and 2.3±0.4 ng g-1 indole-3-carboxylic acid (ICA) (Sandberg et al. 1984, Phytochemistry, 23, 99–102). Metabolism studies with needles incubated in a culture medium in darkness revealed that both [3-14C]-tryptophan and [2-14C]tryptamine mine are converted to [14C]IEt. It was also shown that [3-14C]IEt acted as a precursor of [14C]IAA. The observed metabolism appears to be enzymic in nature. The [2-14C]IAA was not catabolised to [14C]ICA in detectable quantities implying that, at best, only a minor portion of the endogenous ICA pool in the Pinus needles originates from IAA.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- DEAE:
-
diethylaminoethyl
- GC-MS:
-
gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
- HPLC:
-
high-performance liquid chromatography
- IAA:
-
indole-3-acetic acid
- ICA:
-
indole-3-carboxylic acid
- IEt:
-
indole-3-ethanol
- PVP:
-
polyvinylpyrrolidone
References
Andersson, B., Sandberg, G. (1982) Identification of endogenous N-(3-indoleacetyl)aspartic acid in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) by combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, using high performance liquid chromatography for quantification. J. Chromatogr. 238, 151–156
Bearder, J.R. (1980) Plant hormones and other growth substances — their background, structures and occurrence. In: Encyclopedia of plant physiology, N.S., vol. 9: Hormonal regulation of development I. Molecular aspects of plant hormones, pp. 9–112, MacMillan, J., ed. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York
Cohen, J.D., Bandurski, R.S. (1982) Chemistry and physiology of the bound auxins. Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. 33, 403–430
Hoffmann, F., Rausch, T., Hilgenberg, W. (1978) Preparation of radioactively labelled indole-3-acetic acid for auxin precursors. J. Labelled Compd. Radiopharm. 18, 1491–1495
Letham, D.S., Goodwin, P.G., Higgins, T.J.V. (1978) Phytohormones and related compounds — a comprehensive treatise, vol. 2. Elsevier, Amsterdam
Pengelly, W., Meins, F. (1977) A specific radioimmunoassay for nanogram quantities of the auxin, indole-3-acetic acid. Planta 136, 173–180
Purves, W.K., Rayle, D.L., Johnson, K.D. (1967) Actions and interactions of growth factors on cucumber hypocotyl segments. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 141, 169–179
Rajagopal, R. (1967) Occurrence of indole acetaldehyde and tryptophol in the extracts of etiolated shoots of Pisum and Helianthus seedlings. Physiol. Plant. 20, 655–660
Rayle, D.L., Purves, W.K. (1967) Isolation and identification of indole-3-ethanol (tryptophol) from cucumber seedlings. Plant Physiol. 42, 520–524
Rivier, L., Pilet, P.E. (1974) Indolyl-3-acetic acid in cap and apex of maize roots: identification and quantification by mass spectrometry. Planta 120, 107–112
Sandberg, G. (1981) Indentification and quantification of 3-indoleacetic acid in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), and some aspects of the auxin physiology of pine seedlings. Thesis, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå
Sandberg, G., Andersson, G., Dunberg, A. (1981) Identification of 3-indole-acetic acid in Pinus sylvestris L. by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and quantitative analysis by ion-pair reversed phase liquid chromatography with spectrofluorimetric detection. J. Chromatogr. 205, 125–137
Sandberg, G., Jensen, E., Crozier, A. (1984) Analysis of 3-indole carboxylic acid in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) needles. Phytochemistry 23, 99–102
Schneider, E.A., Gibson, R.A., Wightman, F. (1972) Biosynthesis and metabolism of indole-3-yl-acetic acid. I. The native indoles of barley and tomato shoots. J. Exp. Bot. 23, 152–170
Schneider, E.A., Wightman, F. (1978) Auxins. In: Phytohormones and related compounds — a comprehensive treatise. The biochemistry of phytohormones and related compounds, vol. 1, pp. 29–105, Letham, D.S., Goodwin, P.B., Higgins, T.J.V., eds. Elsevier, Amsterdam
Sembdner, G., Gross, D., Liebsch, H.-W., Schneider, G. (1980) Biosynthesis and metabolism of plant hormones. In: Encyclopedia of plant physiology, N.S., vol. 9: Hormonal regulation of development I. Molecular aspects of plant hormones. pp. 281–444, MacMillan, J., ed. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York
Weiler, E.W., Jourdan, P.S., Conrad, W. (1981) Levels of indole-3-acetic acid in intact and decapitated coleoptiles as determined by a specific and highly sensitive solid-phase immunoassay. Planta 153, 561–571
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sandberg, G. Biosynthesis and metabolism of indole-3-ethanol and indole-3-acetic acid by Pinus sylvestris L. needles. Planta 161, 398–403 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00394569
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00394569