Arabidopsis FY, a homologue of the yeast RNA 3' processing factor Pfs2p, regulates the autonomous floral transition pathway through its interaction with FCA, an RNA binding protein. It is demonstrated here that FY also influences seed dormancy. Freshly-harvested seed of the Arabidopsis fy-1 mutant germinated readily in the absence of stratification or after-ripening. Furthermore, the fy-1 mutan...

The effect of 10, 100, 1000, 10,000 ppm of ethylene, applied for 3, 6, 12, and 24 hours, on the ripening rate of "Hass" avocado (Persea americana Mill.) fruits at three stages of maturity was investigated. Ethylene treatments were started either immediately after picking or 2 days later. A sharp peak of ethylene production was found to precede full softening by about 2 days and the occurrence o...

Among the numerous treatments available for helping to educate people with autism, applied behavior analysis (ABA) is the best empirically evaluated, as many articles in this dual-volume special issue document. Unfortunately, the best supported treatments are not always the best disseminated or accepted. Recently, however, ABA has emerged with widespread recognition beyond the limited community...

Tomato fruit development is regulated both by the action of plant hormones and by tight genetic control. Recent studies suggest that abscisic acid (ABA) signalling may affect different aspects of fruit maturation. Previously, it was shown that SlAREB1, an ABA-regulated transcription factor involved in stress-induced responses, is expressed in seeds and in fruit tissues in tomato. Here, the role...

Osmotic stress activates the biosynthesis of abscisic acid (ABA). One major step in ABA biosynthesis is the carotenoid cleavage catalyzed by a 9-cis epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED). To understand the mechanism for osmotic stress activation of ABA biosynthesis, we screened for Arabidopsis thaliana mutants that failed to induce the NCED3 gene expression in response to osmotic stress treatments...

Single warmings of ‘Cortland’, ‘Delicious’, ‘Granny Smith’ and ‘Pacific Rose’ apples to 20°C for 0–9 days after cold storage of 0–27 days were tested as a potential non-chemical method to control superficial scald development. Only in ‘Granny Smith’ was scald development reduced to commercially acceptable levels by warming, and even for this cultivar the response varied among growing regions. W...

Plants subjected to a prior dehydration stress were seen to have altered transcriptional responses during a subsequent dehydration stress for up to 5 days after the initial stress. The abscisic acid (ABA) inducible RD29B gene of Arabidopsis thaliana was strongly induced after the first stress and displayed transcriptional memory with transcript levels nine-fold higher during the second dehydrat...