Preparation of a Cell-free Ethylene-forming System from Penicillium digitatum

Abstract

An ethylene-forming enzyme was partially purified from Penicillium digitatum IFO 9372 by means of DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B ion exchange chromatography, and a cell-free ethylene-forming system was constructed. Using this system as a tool for elucidation of the biochemical basis of the ethylene formation, the immediate precursor of ethylene was found to be α-ketoglutarate and essential factors were L-arginine and the ferrous ion under reduced conditions. It was strongly suggested that this cell-free ethylene-forming system operates in living cells of P. digitatum on comparison of the time course of ethylene-forming activity of the cell-free system with that of living cells.