Figure 2.

Effects of silencing KD1 on the kinetics of abscission. A, VIGS of KD1. The effect of flower removal on pedicel abscission after 16 h was determined in pedicels of control (Con) Lc-overexpressed plants and silenced pedicels of Lc-overexpressed plants infected with TRV vectors containing fragments of the Lc gene alone (Lc) or combined with a fragment of KD1 (KD1+Lc). Different letters indicate significant differences among Con, Lc, and KD1+Lc (Student’s t test, P < 0.05). Pedicel (B) and petiole (C) abscission in wild-type (cv New Yorker) and TAPG4::antisense KD1 transgenic plants (lines A, E, and H). The percentages of pedicel and petiole abscission were determined at intervals after flower removal or during ethylene treatment (3 μL L⁻¹), respectively. Different letters at each time point indicate significant differences between wild-type and transgenic lines (Student’s t test, P < 0.05). The results are the means of three replicates ± sd, with at least 15 samples per replicate. WT, Wild type.