Studies on the mechanism of action of ethylene. II. Effects of ethylene on mitochondria from rat liver and yeast, and on mitochondrial adenosine triphosphatase

Abstract

Ethylene treatment of rat liver and yeast mitochondria was found to increase the rate of mitochondrial volume change caused by adenosine diphosphate or adenosine triphosphate. As well, ethylene increased the rate of adenosine triphosphate hydrolysis by mitochondria from rat liver, yeast, and bean cotyledons. However, the gas had no effect on the reactivity of a partially purified adenosine triphosphatase prepared from mitochondria of rat liver or bean cotyledon. For ethylene to exert its effect, it appears that the enzyme must be in its natural locale in the mitochondrial membrane, where the gas can accumulate in relatively high concentrations. The effects of ethylene on respiration in vivo are explicable on the basis of these observations.