Enhancement by ethylene of cellulysin-induced ethylene production by tobacco leaf discs

Cellulysin-induced ethylene production in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) leaf discs was enhanced several-fold by prior exposure of the leaf tissue to ethylene. This enhancement in the response of the tissue to Cellulysin increased rapidly during 4 and 8 hours of pretreatment with ethylene and resulted from greater conversion of methionine to ethylene. On treatment with Cellulysin, the content of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) in leaf discs not pretreated with ethylene markedly increased while that of the ethylene-pretreated tissue was only slightly higher than in the tissue incubated in the absence of Cellulysin. Ethylene-treated tissue, however, converted ACC to ethylene at a faster rate than air controls. These data indicate that ethylene stimulates Cellulysin-induced ethylene production by stimulating the conversion of ACC to ethylene. Data are also presented on a possible relation of this phenomenon to ethylene produced by the tobacco leaf upon interaction with its pathogen, Alternaria alternata.