ON GENES AND GENE-WORSHIP OR: AN HORTICULTURIST VIEW OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

The fascinating achievements during the last decade clearly indicate the power of molecular biology and gene analysis, in both "standard" and transgenic crop plants.
A partial list of horticultural problems which can benefit from the achievements of molecular genetics includes: hormonal control of tree and fruit growth, fruit quality (taste and shelf-life), flowering, fruit-set and seed formation, root formation and graft-healing, tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress, etc.
The following recent key studies and achievements are reviewed:

1. Modifying the metabolism, availability and tissue "sensitivity" of auxins and cytokinins.

2. Changing concepts in modifying fruit ripening: from polygalacturonase to ethylene controlling genes in tomato.

3. Fertility control: the RNase gene expression (from male sterility to seedlessness).

4. Water stress-related specific proteins: detecting the molecular responses to desiccation in trees.

Specific, controlled expression of desired traits is dependent, in addition to the gene of interest and the transformation system, on a delicate balance between 3 types of promoters: "spatial" (cell and organ-specific), "temporal" (developmental stage-specific) and "environmental" (climatic and stress-specific). This balanced control of expression is of special importance in horticultural plants.

VII International Symposium on Plant Growth Regulators in Fruit Production

A. Altman

auxins, biotechnology, cytokinins, male-sterility, desiccation stress, ethylene, fertility, fruit ripening, pollen, promoters, RNase

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1993.329.47