Nature 205, 699 - 700 (13 February 1965); doi:10.1038/205699a0

Ethylene Production and Lipid Mobilization during Germination of Castor Beans

MARY SPENCER & A. O. OLSON

Departments of Plant Science and Biochemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.

RECENT investigations¹ have shown that ethylene is evolved during the germination of oat seeds and Penicillium digitatum spores. This article reports investigations conducted with a germinating fatty seed, the castor bean (Ricinus Zanzibarensis). Ethylene production and lipid levels were determined at various stages, and these values will be discussed with relation to the activity of the glyoxylate pathway enzymes² and the changes in mitochondria³ during the germination of the seeds.

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