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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Soybean Genomics & Improvement Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #311789
Title: Research tools: ethylene preparation. In: Chi-Kuang Wen editor. Ethylene in plants. Springer Netherlands. Springer Link

Author
item WEN, CHI-KUANG - Chinese Academy Of Sciences
item Tucker, Mark

Submitted to: Ethylene in Plants
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/22/2014
Publication Date: 1/1/2015
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/61559
Citation: Wen, C., Tucker, M.L. 2015. Research tools: ethylene preparation. In: Chi-Kuang Wen editor. Ethylene in plants. Springer Netherlands. Springer Link. Ethylene in Plants. p. 245-261.

Interpretive Summary: Ethylene is a plant hormone that regulates many aspects of plant growth and development, germination, fruit ripening, senescence (aging), sex determination, abscission (organ separation), defense, gravitropism (bending towards or away from gravity), epinasty (bending of leaves), and more. For experimental purposes, one needs to treat plant material with ethylene and its inhibitors to determine the precise role of ethylene in any particular stage of plant development. For short-term treatments, ethylene and its inhibitors can be applied in a closed system when accumulation of CO2 and other volatiles and decline of oxygen has a marginal effect. For longer treatments, accumulation of gases and depletion of oxygen can markedly change the response to ethylene. For this purpose, a flow-through (open) system is required. Methods for both a closed and open system are presented and discussed. Both scientist and industrial partners will benefit from a clear and simple description of how to treat plants and plant tissues with ethylene.

Technical Abstract: Ethylene is a plant hormone that regulates many aspects of plant growth and development, germination, fruit ripening, senescence, sex determination, abscission, defense, gravitropism, epinasty, and more. For experimental purposes, one needs to treat plant material with ethylene and its inhibitors to determine the precise role of ethylene in any particular stage of plant development. For short-term treatments, ethylene and its inhibitors can be applied in a closed system when accumulation of CO2 and other volatiles and decline of oxygen has a marginal effect. For longer treatments, accumulation of gases and depletion of oxygen can markedly change the response to ethylene. For this purpose, a flow-through (open) system is required. Methods for both a closed and open system are presented and discussed.