Enhancement of ethylene formation by selenoamino acids.

Selenomethionine and selenoethionine enhanced ethylene production in senescing flower tissue of Ipomoea tricolor Cav. and in auxin-treated pea (Pisum sativum L.) stem sections. This enhancement was fully inhibited by the aminoethoxy analog of rhizobitoxine. Methionine did not have a comparable promotive effect, and ethionine partly inhibited ethylene production. When [(14)C]methionine was applied to flower or pea stem tissue followed by treatment with unlabeled selenomethionine or selenoethionine, the specific radioactivity of the ethylene evolved was considerably reduced. The dilution of the specific radioactivity of ethylene by selenomethionine, and in pea stem sections also by selenoethionine, was greater than the dilution by nonradioactive methionine at the same concentration. These results indicate that both selenoamino acids serve as precursors of ethylene and that they are converted to ethylene more efficiently than is methionine.