Use of mutants to dissect the role of ethylene signalling in organ senescence and the regulation of yield in Arabidopsis thaliana

Bennett, E. J., Roberts, J. A. and Wagstaff, C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9400-8641 (2014) Use of mutants to dissect the role of ethylene signalling in organ senescence and the regulation of yield in Arabidopsis thaliana. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation, 33 (1). pp. 56-65. ISSN 0721-7595 doi: 10.1007/s00344-013-9382-0

Abstract/Summary

The role of ethylene in regulating organ senescence in Arabidopsis has been investigated by studying the development of mutants that have an attenu- ated capacity to perceive the gas. The onset of leaf senescence and floral organ abscission was delayed in the ethylene-insensitive mutant etr1. The photosynthetic life span of rosette leaves was similarly extended in the gain- of-function mutant ers2, and this mutant also exhibited a delay in the timing of pod dehiscence primarily as a con- sequence of an extension in the final stages of senescence. A detailed analysis of yield revealed that whilst thousand grain weight was increased, by as much as 20 %, in etr1, ein4, and the loss-of-function mutant etr2, only the latter showed a significant increase in total weight of seeds produced per plant. The other studied mutants exhibited a reduction in total seed yield of almost 40 %. These observations are discussed in the context of the possible role of ethylene in regulating organ senescence and their significance in the breeding of crop plants with enhanced phenotypic characteristics.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/37434
Identification Number/DOI	10.1007/s00344-013-9382-0
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Interdisciplinary centres and themes > Centre for Food Security Life Sciences > School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy > Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences > Human Nutrition Research Group
Uncontrolled Keywords	Ethylene Mutant Senescence Seed yield Dehiscence Pod development
Publisher	Springer
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