OSMOTIC STRESS-DEPENDENT CONVERSION OF 1-AMINOCYCLOPROPANE-1-CARBOXYLIC ACID (ACC) TO ETHYLENE IN THE HALOPHYTE, ALLENROLFEA-OCCIDENTALIS

Four salts (NaCl, KCl, MgCl2, CaCl2) commonly present in the salt playas stimualted the conversion of ACC to ethylene in the halophyte, Allenrolfea occidentalis (S. Wats.) Kuntze. Melibiose, a disaccharide ubiquitous in various plant organs, and polyethylene glycol 8000 (PEG 8000) a man-made osmoticum also promoted the ACC to ethylene conversion. With all the osmotica tested, the highest stimulation of ACC to ethylene occurred at the osmotic level that was similar to the sap of the plant tissue. The results suggest that it is not nature of the osmoticum but rather the intensity of the stress that stimulates the ACC to ethylene conversion.