• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.83-87
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• 2000

Carnation petals exhibit autocatalytic ethylene production and wilting during senescence. The autocatalytic ethylene production is induced by the expression of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) synthase and ACC oxidase genes, whereas the wilting of petals is related to expression of the cysteine proteinase (CP) gene. Until recently, it has been believed that these two phenomena, autocatalytic ethylene production and wilting, are regulated in concert in senescing carnation petals, since the two phenomena occurred closely in parallel. Our studies with petals of a transgenic carnation harboring a sense ACC oxidase transgene and petals of carnation flowers treated with 1,1-dimethyl-4-(phenylsulfonyl) semicarbazide showed that the expression of ACC synthase and ACC oxidase genes and that of CP are regulated differently in carnation psanetals. Interestingly, in the petals of transgenic carnation, the transcript for CP was accumulated but the transcripts for ACC synthase and ACC oxidase were not accumulated in response to exogenous ethylene. Based on these results, we hypothesized that two ethylene signaling pathways, one leading to the expression of ACC synthase and ACC oxidase genes and the other leading to the expression of CP gene, are functioning in senescing carnation petals.