title: Inhibitory oxidation products of indole-3-acetic Acid: 3-hydroxymethyloxindole and 3-methyleneoxindole as plant metabolites.
abstract: Extracts of pea seedlings (Pisum sativum, variety Alaska) oxidize indole-3-acetic acid to a bacteriostatic compound which has been identified as 3-hydroxymethyloxindole. At physiological pH this compound is readily dehydrated to 3-methyleneoxindole, another bacteriostatic agent. The extracts of pea seedlings also contain a reduced triphosphopyridine nucleotide-linked enzyme which reduces 3-methyleneoxindole to 3-methyloxindole, a non-toxic compound.These enzymatic reactions also take place in intact seedlings; thus, a pathway of indole-3-acetic acid degradation via oxindoles appears to be pertinent to plant metabolism.The significance of such metabolism lies in the fact that a key intermediate of this pathway, 3-methyleneoxindole, is a sulfhydryl reagent capable of profound effects on metabolism and growth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Southern California, School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California 90033.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tuli
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Moyed