Incorporation of methanol into pectic substance

Others have shown that l-methionine is utilized in the biosynthesis of methyl ester groups in pectic substance. Methanol, like l-methionine, is used for methyl ester biosynthesis by detached parsley leaves (Petroselinum crispum). When a combination of methanol-³H and methanol-¹⁴C is given to parsley leaves, methanol recovered from pectic substance by alkaline hydrolysis has a ³H/¹⁴C ratio about one-fourth that of the mixture administered. Unlike l-methionine, methanol is oxidized prior to its utilization as a carbon source for methyl ester biosynthesis.