Evidence of cyanamide production in hairy vetch Vicia villosa

Abstract

Cyanamide (NH2CN) has recently been isolated as a plant growth inhibitor from Vicia villosa, which is the first discovery of cyanamide from natural sources. To reveal the presence of the biosynthesized cyanamide in plants, 3.4 mM potassium (15N)nitrate was administered to 15- to 35-day-old plants of V. villosa, from which the cyanamide was purified and subjected to GC/MS analysis. The isotopic ratio 15N/(14N + 15N) of the cyanamide was calculated to be 0.143, while that of the cyanamide extracted from V. villosa grown in the presence of a natural N source was 0.0065. The 15N-enrichment proved de novo biosynthesis of cyanamide.