1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid
1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid is a disubstituted cyclic α-amino acid in which a three-membered cyclopropane ring is fused to the C atom of the amino acid.
ACC plays an important role in the biosynthesis of the plant hormone Ethylene as a plant hormone#ethylene. It is synthesized by the enzyme ACC synthase from methionine and converted to ethylene by ACC oxidase. ACC can be used by soil microorganisms as a source of nitrogen and carbon. As such, using ACC to incubate soils has been proven to induce the gene abundance encoding ACC-deaminases, which may have positive consequences on plant growth and stress tolerance.
ACC is also an exogenous partial agonist of the mammalian NMDA receptor.
In 2019, the United States Environmental Protection Agency issued notice of an application for an Experimental use permit to be issued for use of ACC as a pesticide.
