LEAF METHANOL - THE SIMPLEST NATURAL PRODUCT FROM PLANTS

Current interest in the chemistry of the atmosphere has led to the ide ntification of methanol as one of the major organic compounds in fores t air and in the troposphere. Analysis of the emissions of volatile or ganic compounds from leaves has revealed that most plants emit methano l, especially during early stages of leaf expansion - it is probably p roduced as a by-product of pectin metabolism during cell wall synthesi s, and a fraction of this pool is then emitted through stomata during transpiration. There is also evidence that leaf methanol supports an a bundant population of epiphytic bacterial methylotrophs. Application o f methanol to leaves enhances the growth and yield of C-3 plants, alth ough the mechanism responsible for this phenomenon is uncertain.