Abstract
A critical evaluation was made of the hypothesis that the primary mode of action of ethylene in inducing physiological responses is by changing the permeability of cell organelles. The parameter investigated was the evaluation of the influence of ethylene and other gases on mitochondrial oxidation and swelling. Spectrometric evidence demonstrated that mitochondria prepared with good respiratory control can be induced to swell more rapidly with ethylene and other aliphatic gases (ethane, propene, propane, I-butene) in test solutions of 0.125 m KCl. The fact that saturated as well as unsaturated hydrocarbon gases elicited similar changes provides evidence that ethylene does not directly alter membrane permeability as its mechanism of action.