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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Soybean Genomics & Improvement Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #305361
Title: To grow old: regulatory role of ethylene in senescence

Author
item KIM, JOONYUP - University Of Maryland
item Tucker, Mark

Submitted to: Frontiers in Plant Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/3/2014
Publication Date: 1/29/2015
Citation: Kim, J., Tucker, M.L. 2015. To grow old: regulatory role of ethylene in senescence. Frontiers in Plant Science. 6(20):1-7.

Interpretive Summary: Senescence is the final stage in the development of an organ or whole plant. It is a genetically programmed process controlled by both developmental and environmental signals. Age-related processes and signals underlie the onset of senescence in both organs (leaf, flower, and fruit) and the whole plant (monocarpic senescence). Rudimentary to most senescence processes is the plant hormone ethylene. Ethylene is a small two-carbon, gaseous molecule critical to a diverse set of developmental processes including senescence. The role of ethylene in senescence was discovered almost 100 years ago, but the mechanisms and processes controlled by ethylene have only recently been deciphered and much of this is through genetic studies in the model plant Arabidopsis. The regulatory network of ethylene involves integration of key nuclear factors and other hormones. In this article, we summarize the current understanding of ethylene’s role in senescence, and discuss the interplay of ethylene with jasmonic acid in the regulation of senescence. A better understanding of senescence and the role of plant hormones in its regulation will greatly improve the ability of scientists and industrial partners to control senescence in soybean and other agriculturally important plants.

Technical Abstract: Senescence is the final stage in the development of an organ or whole plant. It is a genetically programmed process controlled by both developmental and environmental signals. Age-related processes and signals underlie the onset of senescence in both organs (leaf, flower, and fruit) and the whole plant (monocarpic senescence). Rudimentary to most senescence processes is the plant hormone ethylene. Ethylene is a small two-carbon, gaseous molecule critical to a diverse set of developmental processes including senescence. The role of ethylene in senescence was discovered almost 100 years ago, but the mechanisms and processes controlled by ethylene have only recently been deciphered and much of this is through genetic studies in Arabidopsis. The regulatory network of ethylene involves integration of key transcription factors, microRNAs (miRNAs), and other hormones. In this article, we summarize the current understanding of ethylene’s role in senescence, and discuss the interplay of ethylene with jasmonic acid in the regulation of senescence.