Inhibition of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid-dependent ethylene production in tomato-tissue discs by biochemical treatments

Ethylene production in tomato-tissue discs was inhibited to different extents by an uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation (2,4-dinitrophenol), an inhibitor of oxygen affinity (2,3-diphosphoglycerate), free radical scavengers (ascorbic acid, n-propyl gallate, sodium benzoate), chelating agents (citric acid, diethyldithiocarbamate, EDTA, NaN 3 ), sulfhydryl reagents (cysteine, dithioerythritol, glutathione, CoCl 2 ), and polyamines (spermine, spermidine, putrescine, cadavarine). Among all the inhibitors tested, agents which are multifunctional such as DNP, n-propyl gallate, NaN 3 and polyamines were most effective in inhibiting ethylene production. Based on these results and the mode of action of these compounds, the relative importance of various factors for ethylene production has been identified and methods to control ethylene biosynthesis are discussed.