BIODEGRADATION OF THE INDOLIC SYSTEM OF GRAMINE IN HORDEUM-VULGARE

Intact Hordeum vulgare seedlings degraded [2-C-14]gramine, [2-C-14]indole-3-carboxaldehyde and [2-C-14]indole-3-carboxylic acid to (CO2)-C-14. The plants also degraded [6-H-3]gramine to labelled water. Moreover, [2-C-14, 6-H-3]gramine is degraded to (H2O)-H-3 through tritium-labelled anthranilic acid. These results point to a breakdown of the aromatic system of gramine by successive steps involving indole-3-carboxylic acid, N-formylanthranilic acid and anthranilic acid which then follows its known degradation pathway. The last steps of the process proceed at a very fast rate.