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Effect of temperature on ethylene biosynthesis in carnation petals

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Abstract

Carnation petals, at a stage in which they are already producing ethylene, show a sigmoidal dependency of ethylene production on temperature within the range of 0 to 30°C. An Arrhenius plot of these data show a break atca. 22°C in the straight lines connecting the points. The activity of the ethylene-forming enzyme (EFE), measured bothin vitro, using isolated membranes, andin vivo, using petals pretreated with 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC), shows an exponential dependency on temperature within the same range. Arrhenius plots of EFE activity fail to show any discontinuity.

In contrast, ACC synthase activity measuredin vitro shows the same sigmoidal dependency on temperature as that of the intact petals. We suggest, therefore, that ACC synthase activity is the rate-limiting step mediating the influence of temperature on ethylene biosynthesis by carnation petals over the range studied.

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Borochov, A., Itzhaki, H. & Spiegelstein, H. Effect of temperature on ethylene biosynthesis in carnation petals. Plant Growth Regul 3, 159–166 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01806055

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01806055

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