A comparative study of ethylene oxidation inVicia faba andMycobacterium paraffinicum

Abstract Vicia faba L. ‘Herz Freya’ (fababean) cotyledons andMycobacterium paraffinicum Bardane strain (MPB) cells were studied to describe and compare physiological and biochemical factors regulating ethylene oxidation. Both organisms demonstrated a linear rate of ethylene uptake as a function of c...
Ausführliche Beschreibung

Abstract Vicia faba L. ‘Herz Freya’ (fababean) cotyledons andMycobacterium paraffinicum Bardane strain (MPB) cells were studied to describe and compare physiological and biochemical factors regulating ethylene oxidation. Both organisms demonstrated a linear rate of ethylene uptake as a function of concentration from 1 ppm to 1,000 ppm. CO2 did not influence ethylene oxidation by either organism. Zero degree temperatures and CO inhibited ethylene oxidation by fababeans but not by MPB. An N2 gas phase blocked ethylene consumption by fababeans. In contrast, MPB continued to consume ethylene at a reduced rate under anaerobic conditions. Hydrocarbon oxidation was limited to alkenes. Alkanes were not oxidized by either organism. Both organisms were sensitive to diethyldithiocarbamic acid, o-phenanthroline, carbonyl cyanidem-chlorophenyl hydrazone, and CS2. The possibility that CS2 acted as a suicide substrate is discussed. Evidence is presented that hydrocarbon gas oxidation by fababeans is not a part of, or reflection of, the way ethylene acts as a hormone. Ausführliche Beschreibung