Ethylene was produced when isolates of the postharvest pathogen Botryt
is cinerea Pers.: Fr., derived from fruit of strawberry, blueberry and
kiwifruit and leaves of grape and camellia, were grown on a modified
Pratt's medium containing 35 mM methionine in shaken or static culture
s at 22 degrees C in the dark. Cultures grown on basal media containin
g glutamate or alpha-ketoglutarate produced no more ethylene than cont
rols. Optimum growth occurred at pH 3.5 and 4.5 for shake and static c
ultures, respectively. When B. cinerea was grown in a methionine-amend
ed basal medium, maximum production of ethylene occurred after 3-4 day
s of incubation. However, maximum ethylene production per unit dry wt
of mycelium (780 mu l/g/h) occurred within 48 h of inoculation, after
which it declined. That high ethylene production occurs with such smal
l amounts of mycelia suggests a possible role for fungal produced ethy
lene in B. cinerea pathogenesis of sensitive fruit such as kiwifruit.
(C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.