Articles
EXPRESSION OF SENESCENCE RELATED GENES IN CARNATION PETALS UNDERGOING WILTING AND FADING
Article number
763_37
Pages
283 – 287
Language
English
Abstract
Senescence of carnation flowers is classified into ethylene-dependent and -independent senescence.
The latter is observed in flowers pretreated with inhibitors of ethylene production or perception and in flowers of long-lasting cultivars and transgenic carnation, which produce no detectable ethylene during senescence.
We compared changes in appearance of flowers during ethylene-dependent and -independent senescence by assessing carnation flowers pretreated with or without 1,1-dimethyl-4-(phenylsulfonyl)semicarbazide (DPSS), an inhibitor of ethylene production.
Untreated carnation flowers showed in-rolling of the petal margin followed by rapid wilting of the whole petals.
In flowers pretreated with DPSS, the first symptoms were desiccation, discoloration and necrosis in the petal margins, which gradually spread to the remaining petal portions.
We named these two morphologically different executions of senescence wilting and fading, respectively.
The transcript of a cysteine proteinase (CPase, DcCP1) gene, which was previously shown to be up-regulated by ethylene during wilting, accumulated in both wilting and fading petals.
The transcript of its inhibitor (DcCPIn) gene, which was previously shown to be down-regulated by ethylene during wilting, diminished in both wilting and fading petals.
Transcripts of another carnation CPase gene DcCP2 accumulated only in fading petals.
These results indicate that wilting and fading of carnation petals can be distinguished by difference in gene expression as well as in morphological changes.
The latter is observed in flowers pretreated with inhibitors of ethylene production or perception and in flowers of long-lasting cultivars and transgenic carnation, which produce no detectable ethylene during senescence.
We compared changes in appearance of flowers during ethylene-dependent and -independent senescence by assessing carnation flowers pretreated with or without 1,1-dimethyl-4-(phenylsulfonyl)semicarbazide (DPSS), an inhibitor of ethylene production.
Untreated carnation flowers showed in-rolling of the petal margin followed by rapid wilting of the whole petals.
In flowers pretreated with DPSS, the first symptoms were desiccation, discoloration and necrosis in the petal margins, which gradually spread to the remaining petal portions.
We named these two morphologically different executions of senescence wilting and fading, respectively.
The transcript of a cysteine proteinase (CPase, DcCP1) gene, which was previously shown to be up-regulated by ethylene during wilting, accumulated in both wilting and fading petals.
The transcript of its inhibitor (DcCPIn) gene, which was previously shown to be down-regulated by ethylene during wilting, diminished in both wilting and fading petals.
Transcripts of another carnation CPase gene DcCP2 accumulated only in fading petals.
These results indicate that wilting and fading of carnation petals can be distinguished by difference in gene expression as well as in morphological changes.
Authors
S. Otsu, S. Satoh, Y. Kosugi
Keywords
ethylene, flower senescence
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