Ethylene Binding to Senescing Carnation Petals

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Brown, J. H., Legge, R. L., Sisler, E. C, Baker, J E. and Thompson, J. E. 1986. Ethylene binding to senescing carnation petals.—J. exp. Bot 37: 526–534. Ethylene binding to carnation petals is significantly higher on a fresh weight basis for young fully expanded flowers than for older flowers showing petal-inrolling symptoms. The peak in ethylene binding precedes the climacteric-like rise in ethylene production even when production of endogenous ethylene is inhibited by incorporating amino-oxyacetic acid into the petals. From Scatchard analyses of ethylene binding, it has been estimated that petals from young fully expanded flowers have ≅11×104 binding sites per cell, whereas petals from senescent flowers showing extensive petal inrolling have ≅0.6×10104 binding sites per cell. It is also apparent from the Scatchard analyses that the affinity of binding sites for ethylene decreases with advancing age of the flowers. The decline in number of binding sites with advancing age can be essentially accounted for by the extensive breakdown of membranes that accompanies senescence. However, the decreased affinity for ethylene in the older tissue suggests that the binding sites become altered with advancing senescence.