Transcript 09 Ethylene

Chapter 22
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Discovered 19th C.  trees around streetlamps
senesced earlier …..
1901 – triple mutants in Russian lab  reduced
stem elongation, increased lateral growth,
abnormal horizontal growth
Commonality?
 ethylene gas
Not taken seriously until
1959 …..
Epicotyl
Grown in Dark
Triple Response of Pea seedlings
1. Decrease in longitudinal growth
2. Increase in radial expansion
3. Horizontal orientation of epicotyl
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NOT a class of molecule! -- H2C=CH2
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Produced by almost all parts of higher plants
Rate of production depends on tissue type and
stage of development
Increases during leaf abscission, flower
senescence, and fruit ripening.
Wounding can induce ethylene formation
Physiological stresses  flooding, disease,
temperature, drought, infection
Circadian rhythms  peak at midday
Auxins can promote
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Effects occur at transcriptional level via ACC
synthase.
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(ACC == 1-amino-cyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid)
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In tomato … 10 different ACC synthase genes
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Depends on auxin, wounding and/or fruit ripening
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Silver ions
CO2  inhibits fruit ripening
Less efficient than silver
 HIGH concentrations – unlikely in nature
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Ethylene activity can be controlled by
Oxidation to carbon dioxide
 Conversion to ethylene oxide
 Conversion to ethylene glycol
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Big problem – gaseous
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Simulate activity with ethephon
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2-chloroethylphosphonic acid → decomposes to ethylene.
Known to affect virtually every aspect of growth
and development
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Characteristic
respiration rise before
ripening
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Ripening → softening
due to breakdown of cell
walls, starch hydrolysis,
sugar accumulation and
disappearance of acids
and phenolics including
tannins
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Climacteric fruits – have the climacteric
response
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Climacteric
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Apple, avocado, banana, canteloupe, figs, mango,
olive, peach, pear, persimmon, plum, tomato
Non-climacteric
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Autocatylitic response to ethylene
Peppers, cherry, citrus, grapes, pineapple, beans,
strawberries, watermelon
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In climacteric plants – two systems
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System 1
vegetative tissue
 ethylene inhibits its own biosynthesis
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System 2
ripening fruits & senescing petals
 ethylene stimulates production of ethylene
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Unripe climacteric fruits treated with
ethylene
Climacteric response is hastened
 Ethylene production increases
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Unripe non-climacteric fruits treated with
ethylene
Rise in respiration
 No increase in ethylene production
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Spots on Two week old Bananas - Ripening Experiment
Spots where
Ethylene is
produced
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Leaf epinasty
Auxin causes the production
of ethylene
 Waterlogged and/or
anaerobic root conditions 
ACC transported to the
leaves
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While usually inhibitor of elongation –
promotes elongation of stem and petioles in
submerged aquatics (including rice)
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Treatment with ethylene mimics submergence
Ethylene synthesis diminished by lack of O2
 Loss of ethylene by diffusion is retarded by H2O
 Increases sensitivity to GA because of decrease of ABA
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Induces lateral cell expansion by
changing the orientation of the
cellulose microfibrils in the cell
wall.
Maintenance of the hypocotyl
hook in dark grown seedlings
Break dormancy in certain seeds
Increase seed germination
Promote bud sprouting in potato
Part of the triple response …..
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Induces adventitious
formation of roots and root
hairs
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Primarily function of auxin
Ethylene-insensitive mutants
auxin has no effect!
Negative regulator of root
nodule formation
Positive regulator of root hair
formation
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Regulates flowering
Flowering in pineapple and other bromeliads
 Mango
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Sex-determination in monoecious species
Change sex of developing flowers
 Ethylene → female flowers in cucumbers
 Gibberellins → male flowers in cucumbers
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Exogenous ethylene
accelerates leaf senescence;
exogenous cytokinin delays it
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Appears to effect the rate of
senescence rather than a
senescence “switch”
Enhanced ethylene
production associated with
chlorophyll loss and color
fading
Triggers breakdown of
middle lamella
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Leaf Maintenance – high auxins reduce
ethylene sensitivity
Shedding Induction – reduction in auxin
increases ethylene sensitivity
Shedding – enzymes that hydrolyze middle
lamella in abscission zone
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STS inhibits
ethylene
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Infection and disease – complex process
Ethylene increases response to pathogen
attack
Ethylene + Jasmonic acid required for
activation of several defense genes
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Crown galls produce ethylene
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Limiting and controlling factor -- reduces the diameter
of vessels in the host stem adjacent to the tumor and
enlarges the gall surface through which high
transpiration occurs, thus giving priority in water
supply to the growing tumor over the host shoot.
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Often produced in the presence of high
concentration of auxin
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Inhibitory effects of auxin appear to be auxininduced ethylene …
Ethylene -- all plant tissues in varying conc.
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Senescence and Abscission two separate
processes!
Senescence – developmental process
 Abscission – shedding of dead/dying tissue
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Small molecule -- H2C=CH2
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NOT a class of molecules!
Not required for normal vegetative growth
Development of roots and shoots
 Synthesized in response to stress
 Large quantities in tissues senescing or ripening
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Often produced in the presence of high
concentration of auxin
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Inhibitory effects of auxin appear to be auxininduced ethylene …
Ethylene -- all plant tissues in varying conc.
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Ethylene synthesis is influenced by:
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Auxin
Wounding
Water stress
Temperature
Inhibitors of RNA and protein synthesis
Ethylene autocatalysis
Effects occur at transcriptional level via ACC
synthase.