Hydroperoxide lyase (HPLS) activity in soybean (Glycine max) seed/seedlings, leaves, and chloroplasts of leaves required detergent solubilization for maximum in vitro activity. On a per milligram of protein basis, more HPLS activity was found in leaves, especially chloroplasts, than in seeds or seedlings. The total yield of hexanal from 13(S)-hydroperoxy-cis-9,trans-1 1-octadecadienoic acid (13S-HPOD) from leaf or chloroplast preparations was 58 and 66 to 85%, respectively. Because of significant competing hydroperoxide-metabolizing activities from other enzymes in seed/seedling preparations, the hexanal yields from this source were lower (36-56%). Some of the products identified from the seed or seedling preparations indicated that the competing activity was mainly due to both a hydroperoxide peroxygenase and reactions catalyzed by lipoxygenase. Different HPLS isozyme compositions in the seed/seedling versus the leaf/chloroplast preparations were indicated by differences in the activity as a function of pH, the Km values, relative V .. with 13S-HPOD and 13(S)-hydroperoxy-cis-9,trans-1 ,cis-15-octadecatrienoic acid (13S-HPOT), and the specificity with different substrates. With regard to the latter, both seed/seedling and chloroplast HPLS utilized the 13S-HPOD and 13S-HPOT substrates, but only seeds/ seedlings were capable of metabolizing 9(S)-hydroperoxy-trans-10,cis-12-octadecadienoic acid into 9-oxononanoic acid, isomenc nonenals, and 4-hydroxynonenal. From 13S-HPOD and 13S-HPOT, the products were identified as 12-oxo-cis-9-dodecenoic acid, as well as hexanal from 13S-HPOD and cis-3-hexenal from 13S-HPOT. In seed preparations, there was partial isomerization of the cis-3 or cis-9 into trans-2 or trans-10 double bonds, respectively.HPLS', an enzyme that cleaves hydroperoxides of polyunsaturated fatty acids into both aldehyde and w-oxoacid fragments, occurs widely in plants. Depending on substrate specificity of HPLS isoenzymes for isomeric hydroperoxides of linoleic or linolenic acids, the enzyme produces either green/ ' Abbreviations: HPLS, hydroperoxide lyase; CP-HPLC, chiralphase HPLC; El, electron impact; OTMS, trimethylsilyloxy; rac-HPOD, racemic cis,trans-and trans,trans-diene linoleic acid hydroperoxides; rac-HPOT, racemic cis,cis,trans-triene linolenic acid hydroperoxides; 9S-HPOD, 9(S)-hydroperoxy-trans-10,cis-12-octadecadienoic acid; 13S-HPOD, 13(S)-hydroperoxy-cis-9,trans-11-octadecadienoic acid; 12S-HPOT, 12(S)-hydroperoxy-cis-9,trans-13,cis-1 5-octadecatrienoic acid; 1 3S-HPOT, 1 3(S)-hydroperoxy-cis-9,trans-11 ,cis-5-octadecatrienoic acid; SP-HPLC, straight-phase HPLC; Triton X-1 OOR, Triton X-100 reduced; m/z, mass to charge ratio. beany/grassy odors (hexanal or cis-3-hexenal) from 1 3-hydroperoxides or cucumber/pear odors (cis-3-nonenal or cis-3,cis-6 nonadienal) from 9-hydroperoxides (reviewed in refs. 4 and 15). The corresponding w-oxoacid fragments, 12-oxo-cis-9-dodecenoic acid and 9-oxononanoic acid, have no known function, except the former isomerizes into 12-oxo-trans-10-dodecenoi...