Downregulating a Type I Metacaspase in Petunia Accelerates Flower Senescence

A Petunia Homeodomain-Leucine Zipper Protein, PhHD-Zip, Plays an Important Role in Flower Senescence

Flower senescence is initiated by developmental and environmental signals, and regulated by gene transcription. A homeodomain-leucine zipper transcription factor, PhHD-Zip, is up-regulated during petunia flower senescence. Virus-induced gene silencing of PhHD-Zip extended flower life by 20% both in unpollinated and pollinated flowers. Silencing PhHD-Zip also dramatically reduced ethylene produc...

BEN, ROB, and the Making of a Petunia Flower.

Identification and expression analysis of ERF transcription factor genes in petunia during flower senescence and in response to hormone treatments

Ethylene-responsive element-binding factor (ERF) genes constitute one of the largest transcription factor gene families in plants. In Arabidopsis and rice, only a few ERF genes have been characterized so far. Flower senescence is associated with increased ethylene production in many flowers. However, the characterization of ERF genes in flower senescence has not been reported. In this study, 13...

Transcriptome Changes Associated with Delayed Flower Senescence on Transgenic Petunia by Inducing Expression of etr1-1, a Mutant Ethylene Receptor

Flowers of ethylene-sensitive ornamental plants transformed with ethylene-insensitive 1-1(etr1-1), a mutant ethylene receptor first isolated from Arabidopsis, are known to have longer shelf lives. We have generated petunia plants in which the etr1-1 gene was over-expressed under the control of a chemically-inducible promoter, which would allow expression of etr1-1 to be initiated at the desired...

MAEWEST Expression in Flower Development of Two Petunia Species

Changes in flower morphology may influence the frequency and specificity of animal visitors. In Petunia (Solanaceae), adaptation to different pollinators is one of the factors leading to species diversification within the genus. This study provides evidence that differential expression patterns of MAWEWEST (MAW) homologs in different Petunia species may be associated with adaptive changes in fl...