This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Web of Science (91) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Perata, P. Articles by Alpi, A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Perata, P. Articles by Alpi, A. Agricola Articles by Perata, P. Articles by Alpi, A.

Metabolism and Enzymology

Ethanol-Induced Injuries to Carrot Cells ^1,2

The Role of Acetaldehyde

Dipartimento di Biologia delle Piante Agrarie, Università degli Studi di Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 23, 56124 Pisa, Italy

Carrot (Daucus carota L.) cell cultures show high sensitivity to ethanol since both unorganized cell growth and somatic embryogenesis are strongly inhibited by ethanol at relatively low concentrations (10-20 millimolar). The role of acetaldehyde on ethanol-induced injuries to suspension cultured carrot cells was evaluated. When ethanol oxidation to acetaldehyde is prevented by adding an alcohol-dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.1) inhibitor (4-methylpyrazole) to the culture medium, no ethanol toxicity was observed, even if ethanol was present at relatively high concentrations (40-80 millimolar). Data are also presented on the effects of exogenously added acetaldehyde on both carrot cell growth and somatic embryogenesis. We conclude that the observed toxic effects of ethanol cannot be ascribed to ethanol per se but to acetaldehyde.

² We wish to dedicate this article to Prof. Alessandro Ballio on his seventieth birthday.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. Magneschi and P. Perata Rice germination and seedling growth in the absence of oxygen Ann. Bot., January 1, 2009; 103(2): 181 - 196. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Lasanthi-Kudahettige, L. Magneschi, E. Loreti, S. Gonzali, F. Licausi, G. Novi, O. Beretta, F. Vitulli, A. Alpi, and P. Perata Transcript Profiling of the Anoxic Rice Coleoptile Plant Physiology, May 1, 2007; 144(1): 218 - 231. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. M. J. Claassens, J. Verhees, L. H. W. van der Plas, A. R. van der Krol, and D. Vreugdenhil Ethanol breaks dormancy of the potato tuber apical bud J. Exp. Bot., September 1, 2005; 56(419): 2515 - 2525. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Fujita and M. Z. Hossain Modulation of Pumpkin Glutathione S-Transferases by Aldehydes and Related Compounds Plant Cell Physiol., May 15, 2003; 44(5): 481 - 490. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. M. KOLB, A. RAWYLER, and R. BRAENDLE Parameters Affecting the Early Seedling Development of Four Neotropical Trees under Oxygen Deprivation Stress Ann. Bot., May 1, 2002; 89(5): 551 - 558. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Kato-Noguchi Abscisic acid and hypoxic induction of anoxia tolerance in roots of lettuce seedlings J. Exp. Bot., November 1, 2000; 51(352): 1939 - 1944. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. E. Summers, R. G. Ratcliffe, and M. B. Jackson Anoxia tolerance in the aquatic monocot Potamogeton pectinatus: absence of oxygen stimulates elongation in association with an unusually large Pasteur effect J. Exp. Bot., August 1, 2000; 51(349): 1413 - 1422. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]