Association of carbon disulfide with plants in the family Fabaceae.

We examined 40 taxa from nine genera within the subfamily Mimosoideae; 29 (73%) from six genera produced carbon disulfide (CS2). In addition, 19 of 40 taxa (48%) produced carbonyl sulfide (OCS). Of nine mimosoid taxa that produced CS2, all possessed a djenkolic acid and a cysteine lyase. Of three mimosoid taxa that did not produce CS2, two lacked a cysteine lyase and one lacked both a lyase and a djenkolic acid. Of 16 taxa from 14 genera from the other two subfamilies of the Fabaceae, the Caesalpinioideae and Papilionoideae, none produced CS2. The results suggest that CS2 production is common in the Mimosoideae and uncommon in the Caesalpinioideae and Papilionoideae and that plants in the Mimosoideae that do produce CS2 must possess both a djenkolic acid and a cysteine lyase for this production to occur.