Skip to main content
PMC home page
Plant Physiology logoLink to Plant Physiology
. 1988 Nov;88(3):774–779. doi: 10.1104/pp.88.3.774

Characterization of an Ethylene Overproducing Mutant of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. Cultivar VFN8) 1

David W Fujino 1,2, David W Burger 1,2, Shang Fa Yang 1,2, Kent J Bradford 1,2
PMCID: PMC1055659  PMID: 16666382

Abstract

Ethylene production rates and tissue ethylene concentrations were determined for the single-gene, Epinastic (Epi) tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) mutant, and its parent, cv VFN8. The Epi phenotype was characterized by severe leaf epinasty, thickened stems and petioles, and a compact growth habit. In 4-day-old seedlings, ethylene production was significantly higher in Epi than in VFN8. Ethylene production rates also were higher for excised root, hypocotyl, cotyledon, and shoot tissue of 14-day-old Epi seedlings as compared with VFN8. The greatest difference in the ethylene production rate was observed in excised Epi shoot tissue, which was more than 2.5 times higher than in VFN8. Tissue ethylene concentrations of 19−, 25−, and 31-day-old Epi plants were 8, 172, and 307% higher than for VFN8, corresponding to increasing expression of the Epi phenotypic characteristics with age. The highest ethylene concentrations occurred in the shoot apex of both genotypes. Higher ethylene concentrations in Epi resulted from greater 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid content rather than increased ethylene-forming enzyme activity. The elevated ethylene levels in Epi did not result from increased auxin sensitivity. The sensitivity of root growth to inhibition by ethylene did not differ between VFN8 and Epi. Although elevated levels of ethylene in Epi plants apparently exacerbate its epinastic growth characteristics, other evidence indicates that this may not be the fundamental lesion. This mutant may provide a unique system for investigating the regulation of ethylene biosynthesis and the role of target cell types in plant development.

Full text

PDF
774

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Beyer E. M., Morgan P. W. A method for determining the concentration of ethylene in the gas phase of vegetative plant tissues. Plant Physiol. 1970 Aug;46(2):352–354. doi: 10.1104/pp.46.2.352. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Burg S. P., Burg E. A. Ethylene formation in pea seedlings; its relation to the inhibition of bud growth caused by indole-3-acetic Acid. Plant Physiol. 1968 Jul;43(7):1069–1074. doi: 10.1104/pp.43.7.1069. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Burg S. P., Burg E. A. The interaction between auxin and ethylene and its role in plant growth. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1966 Feb;55(2):262–269. doi: 10.1073/pnas.55.2.262. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Fujino D. W., Nissen S. J., Jones A. D., Burger D. W., Bradford K. J. Quantification of Indole-3-Acetic Acid in Dark-Grown Seedlings of the Diageotropica and Epinastic Mutants of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). Plant Physiol. 1988 Nov;88(3):780–784. doi: 10.1104/pp.88.3.780. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Harrison M., Pickard B. G. Burst of ethylene upon horizontal placement of tomato seedlings. Plant Physiol. 1984;75:1167–1169. doi: 10.1104/pp.75.4.1167. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hoffman N. E., Yang S. F., McKeon T. Identification of 1-(malonylamino) cyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid as a major conjugate of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid, an ethylene precursor in higher plants. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1982 Jan 29;104(2):765–770. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(82)90703-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kelly M. O., Bradford K. J. Insensitivity of the diageotropica tomato mutant to auxin. Plant Physiol. 1986 Nov;82(3):713–717. doi: 10.1104/pp.82.3.713. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Lizada M. C., Yang S. F. A simple and sensitive assay for 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid. Anal Biochem. 1979 Nov 15;100(1):140–145. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(79)90123-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Sisler E. C. Measurement of ethylene binding in plant tissue. Plant Physiol. 1979 Oct;64(4):538–542. doi: 10.1104/pp.64.4.538. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Yu Y. B., Adams D. O., Yang S. F. Regulation of Auxin-induced Ethylene Production in Mung Bean Hypocotyls: Role of 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-Carboxylic Acid. Plant Physiol. 1979 Mar;63(3):589–590. doi: 10.1104/pp.63.3.589. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Zobel R. W. Some Physiological Characteristics of the Ethylene-requiring Tomato Mutant Diageotropica. Plant Physiol. 1973 Oct;52(4):385–389. doi: 10.1104/pp.52.4.385. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Plant Physiology are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES