Acid Phosphatase Development during Ripening of Avocado

The activity and subcellular distribution of acid phosphatase were assayed during ethylene-induced ripening of whole fruit or thick slices of avocado (Persea americana Mill. var. Fuerte and Hass). The activity increased up to 30-fold during ripening in both the supernatant fraction and the Triton X-100 extract of the precipitate of a 30,000g centrifugation of tissue homogenates from whole fruit or slices ripening in moist air. Enzyme activity in the residual precipitate after Triton extraction remained constant. The development of acid phosphatase in thick slices ripened in moist air was similar to that in intact fruit, except that enzyme development and ripening were accelerated about 24 hours in the slices. The increase in enzyme activity that occurs in slices ripening in moist air was inhibited when tissue sections were infiltrated with solutions, by aspiration for 2 minutes or by soaking for 2 hours, anytime 22 hours or more after addition of ethylene. This inhibition was independent of the presence or absence of cycloheximide or sucrose (0.3-0.5m). However, the large decline in enzyme activity in the presence of cycloheximide, as compared with the controls, indicated that synthesis of acid phosphatase was occurring at all stages of ripening.