Abstract
Ethylene, a lipid-soluble gas, is known to have considerable effects on plant metabolism. It is possible that some of these metabolic effects are the result of ethylene's lipid solubility. The effect of low concentrations of 2-chloroethylphosphonic acid (ethrel), an ethylene-releasing compound, on the susceptibility of artificial membrane vesicles (liposomes) to phospholipase A2 and phospholipase C was studied. Liposomes were found to be more susceptible to degradation by these two phospholipases in the presence of ethrel. Ethrel promoted maximal degradation of liposomes by phospholipase C at a concentration of 55 nm. Ethrel also enhanced the leakiness of liposomes to l-leucine only in the presence of phospholipase A2. The rate of degradation of liposomes by both phospholipases was enhanced by about 20–30% in the presence of ethrel. The results may indicate that ethylene may affect the accessibility of phospholipases to their target sites within the lipid bilayer of artificial membrane vesicles.
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