TITLE Compounds controlling the ethylene receptor
AUTHOR Edward C. Sisler
Department of Biochemistry, North Carolina State University, NCSU Box 7622, Raleigh, NC 27595-7622, USA
Margrethe Serek
Department of Agricultural Sciences, Horticulture, Royal Veterinary and Agriculture University, Thorvaldsensvej 57, DK-1871 Frederiksberg C., Denmark
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ABSTRACT Many organic compounds interact with the ethylene receptor and diffuse free after different periods of time. Some are agonists and mimic ethylene, and some are antagonists, which prevent ethylene action by blocking the receptor. Some of the antagonists have proven useful in scientific studies, and some promise to be commercially important in protecting against ethylene. The times that different compounds remain bound may be important clues to how ethylene transmits its signal to the signal transduction pathway. Ethylene diffuses from the site with a t1/2 of 2_10 minutes and is an active compound. For 2,5-Norbornadiene (2,5-NBD) and some other strained olefins that block ethylene action, the half diffusion time is 3_6 h. For other more strained compounds (cyclopropenes) the half diffusion time is estimated to be 7_12 days; they block ethylene action during this time. The time of diffusion from the receptor appears to be the major difference between compounds that block the receptor and those that are active. It is suggested that this time constant may be the controlling factor in ethylene action.
KEYWORD 1-methylcyclopropene, 1-MCP; 2,5-norbornadiene, 2,5-NBD; 3,3-dimethylcyclopropene, 3,3-DMCP; Cyclopropene; Diazocyclopentadiene, DACP; Ethylene antagonist; Ethylene receptor; Methylenecyclopropane; trans-Cyclooctene;
ARTICLE INFO Botanical Bulletin of Academia Sinica, Volume 40 Number 1 January 1999, page 1-7, 7 pages
PUBLISHER Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China