$Ca^{2+}$ Effect on Conversion of Exogenous 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-Carboxylic Acid to Ethylene in Vigna radiata Protoplasts

The possibility that 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC)-uptake may be dependent on the H+-gradient established across the plsma membrane was tested in protoplasts isolated from 2.5 day old mungbean hypocotyls. The ACC-induced ethylene production was inhibited when the H+-gradient was collapsed by the treatment with carbonycyamide-p-trifluro-methoxy-phenylhydrazone (FCCP). Moreover, the treatment with o-vanadate, a specific inhibitor of plasma membrane H+-ATPase, caused the inhibition of ethylene production. The ACC-induced ethylene production was inhibited by the treatemnt with verapamil (Ca2+-channel blocker), or ethylene glycol-bis($\beta$-aminoethyl ether) N, N, N', N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) (Ca2+-chelator). In contrast, the ehtylene production was stimulated by the application of A23187 (Ca2+ ionophore). The inhibitory effect of EGTA in the ethylene producton was magnified in the presence of A23187. From these results, we suggest that the external Ca2+ influx to the cytosol resulted in the stimulatin of ACC oxidase activity after ACC-uptake resulting from a H+-gradient across the plasma membrane.