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Determination of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) in leaf tissue and xylem sap using capillary column gas chromatography and a nitrogen/phosphorus detector

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Abstract

The Lizada and Yang method, commonly used for analyzing 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC), the immediate precursor of the plant hormone ethylene, is subject to interference and lacks internal standards. The use of combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) overcomes these shortcomings but the method is expensive and unavailable to many laboratories. We describe an alternative physico-chemical method using a capillary column gas chromatograph fitted with a standard nitrogen/phosphorus detector. After forming the N-benzoyl n-propyl derivative, measurements of ACC concentrations in extracts of leaves and in xylem sap of tomato plants using the nitrogen/phosphorus detector were within 10% of those obtained by GC-MS. Concentrations in plants grown in well-drained soil were approximately 0.16 nmol g−1 fresh weight (leaves) and 0.04–0.01 mmol m−3 (sap). Flooding the soil for 48–72 h increased these values approximately 9-fold.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Bristol, AFRC Institute of Arable Crops Research Long Ashton Research Station, BS18 9AF, Bristol, UK

    Keith C. Hall, Mark A. Else & Michael B. Jackson

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  1. Keith C. Hall
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  2. Mark A. Else
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  3. Michael B. Jackson
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Hall, K.C., Else, M.A. & Jackson, M.B. Determination of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) in leaf tissue and xylem sap using capillary column gas chromatography and a nitrogen/phosphorus detector. Plant Growth Regul 13, 225–230 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00024842

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00024842

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