Abstract
Pollination of petunia (Petunia hybrida) flowers induces a rapid increase in ethylene production by styles, which subsequently leads to increased ethylene production by the corolla, inducing senescence. We have investigated the temporal and spatial expression of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) oxidase transcripts in petunia styles in an attempt to elucidate its role in increased ethylene biosynthesis following pollination. Previously, we reported that the development of petunia flowers was associated with increased ACC oxidase mRNA localized specifically in the stigmatic regions of the style (X. Tang, A.M.T. Gomes, A. Bhatia, W.R. Woodson [1994] Plant Cell 6: 1227-1239). The rapid increase in ethylene production by styles within the 1st h following pollination was correlated with the expression of ACC oxidase mRNAs during development. Pollination of petunia flowers prior to anthesis and the expression of ACC oxidase mRNA led to a substantial increase in ethylene production, but this was delayed by several hours in comparison with flowers at anthesis. This delayed increase in ethylene production by pollinated styles from immature flowers was associated with an increased ACC oxidase transcript abundance. Treatment with the ethylene action inhibitor 2,5-norbornadiene did not affect the early increase in ethylene production or the expression of ACC oxidase mRNAs. No differences in the rate of pollen germination or tube growth were detected when applied to stigmas from immature or mature flowers, indicating that the delay in ethylene production was likely the result of limited ACC oxidase activity. Localization of ACC oxidase mRNAs following pollination by in situ hybridization revealed an abundance of transcripts in transmitting tract tissue within 4 h of pollination of both immature and mature styles, in contrast to their localization in stigmatic cells during development.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (3.2 MB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Holdsworth M. J., Bird C. R., Ray J., Schuch W., Grierson D. Structure and expression of an ethylene-related mRNA from tomato. Nucleic Acids Res. 1987 Jan 26;15(2):731–739. doi: 10.1093/nar/15.2.731. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- O'Neill S. D., Nadeau J. A., Zhang X. S., Bui A. Q., Halevy A. H. Interorgan regulation of ethylene biosynthetic genes by pollination. Plant Cell. 1993 Apr;5(4):419–432. doi: 10.1105/tpc.5.4.419. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Park K. Y., Drory A., Woodson W. R. Molecular cloning of an 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase from senescing carnation flower petals. Plant Mol Biol. 1992 Jan;18(2):377–386. doi: 10.1007/BF00034964. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Peck S. C., Kende H. Sequential induction of the ethylene biosynthetic enzymes by indole-3-acetic acid in etiolated peas. Plant Mol Biol. 1995 May;28(2):293–301. doi: 10.1007/BF00020248. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Singh A., Evensen K. B., Kao T. H. Ethylene Synthesis and Floral Senescence following Compatible and Incompatible Pollinations in Petunia inflata. Plant Physiol. 1992 May;99(1):38–45. doi: 10.1104/pp.99.1.38. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Tang X., Wang H., Brandt A. S., Woodson W. R. Organization and structure of the 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase gene family from Petunia hybrida. Plant Mol Biol. 1993 Dec;23(6):1151–1164. doi: 10.1007/BF00042349. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Wang H., Woodson W. R. Nucleotide sequence of a cDNA encoding the ethylene-forming enzyme from petunia corollas. Plant Physiol. 1992 Sep;100(1):535–536. doi: 10.1104/pp.100.1.535. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Woodson W. R., Park K. Y., Drory A., Larsen P. B., Wang H. Expression of ethylene biosynthetic pathway transcripts in senescing carnation flowers. Plant Physiol. 1992 Jun;99(2):526–532. doi: 10.1104/pp.99.2.526. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Zhang X. S., O'Neill S. D. Ovary and Gametophyte Development Are Coordinately Regulated by Auxin and Ethylene following Pollination. Plant Cell. 1993 Apr;5(4):403–418. doi: 10.1105/tpc.5.4.403. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]