Movatterモバイル変換

[0]ホーム
URL:

Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
Thehttps:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

NIH NLM Logo
Log inShow account info
Access keysNCBI HomepageMyNCBI HomepageMain ContentMain Navigation
pubmed logo
Advanced Clipboard
User Guide

Full text links

BioMed Central full text link BioMed Central Free PMC article
Full text links

Actions

Share

.2013 Sep 22:13:139.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2229-13-139.

Involvement of ethylene biosynthesis and signalling in fruit set and early fruit development in zucchini squash (Cucurbita pepo L.)

Affiliations

Involvement of ethylene biosynthesis and signalling in fruit set and early fruit development in zucchini squash (Cucurbita pepo L.)

Cecilia Martínez et al. BMC Plant Biol..

Abstract

Background: We have identified a kind of parthenocarpy in zucchini squash which is associated with an incomplete andromonoecy, i.e. a partial conversion of female into bisexual flowers. Given that andromonoecy in this and other cucurbit species is caused by a reduction of ethylene production in the female flower, the associated parthenocarpic development of the fruit suggested the involvement of ethylene in fruit set and early fruit development.

Results: We have compared the production of ethylene as well as the expression of 13 ethylene biosynthesis and signalling genes in pollinated and unpollinated ovaries/fruits of two cultivars, one of which is parthenocarpic (Cavili), while the other is non-parthenocarpic (Tosca). In the latter, unpollinated ovaries show an induction of ethylene biosynthesis and ethylene signal transduction pathway genes three days after anthesis, which is concomitant with the initiation of fruit abortion and senescence. Fruit set and early fruit development in pollinated flowers of both cultivars and unpollinated flowers of Cavili is coupled with low ethylene biosynthesis and signalling, which would also explain the partial andromonoecy in the parthenocarpic genotype. The reduction of ethylene production in the ovary cosegregates with parthenocarpy and partial andromonoecy in the selfing progeny of Cavili. Moreover, the induction of ethylene in anthesis (by ethephon treatments) reduced the percentage of bisexual parthenocarpic flowers in Cavili, while the inhibition of ethylene biosynthesis or response (by AVG and STS treatments) induces not only andromonoecy but also the parthenocarpic development of the fruit in both cultivars.

Conclusions: Results demonstrate that a reduction of ethylene production or signalling in the zucchini flower is able to induce fruit set and early fruit development, and therefore that ethylene is actively involved in fruit set and early fruit development. Auxin and TIBA treatments, inducing fruit set and early fruit development in this species, also inhibit ethylene production and the expression of ethylene biosynthesis and response genes. A model is presented that discusses the crosstalk between ethylene and auxin in the control of fruit set and early fruit development in zucchini squash.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Evolution of the size and ethylene production in pollinated and unpollinated ovaries/fruits of zucchini cv. Tosca. (A) Fruit size.(B) Ethylene production. Different letters indicate significant differences between the means at each data point between pollinated and unpollinated ovaries/fruits (p ≤ 0.05; n = 12 for fruit length, and n = 4 for ethylene production).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Relative expression of 7 ethylene biosynthesis genes in pollinated and unpollinated ovaries/fruits of zucchini cv. Tosca at anthesis (0 DPA) and 3 DPA. In pollinated flowers, expression at the day of anthesis was determined 8 h after hand pollination. Each data point represents the mean of 3 replicates with 3 fruits each. Error bars indicate SE.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Relative expression of ethylene biosynthesis (CpACS4), perception (CpETR1andCpERS1) and signalling (CpCTR1,CpCTR2,CpEIN3.1andCpEIN3.2) genes over 5 DPA in pollinated and unpollinated ovaries/fruits of cv. Tosca. Each data point represents the mean of 3 replicates with 3 ovaries/fruits each. Error bars indicate SE.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Growth rates of ovaries/fruits and petals in female, bisexual and male flowers of the parthenocarpic cultivar Cavili. (A) Female flower.(B) Bisexual flower with a partial development of stamen.(C) Male flower.(D) Ovary size of female and bisexual flowers with the same time of development. Flowers were tagged when they were 4 mm in length (time 0), and allowed to grow for 20 days in the case of female and bisexual flowers, and 24 days in the case of male flowers.(E) Comparison of ovary/fruit longitudinal growth rates between female and bisexual flowers.(F) Comparison of petal longitudinal growth rates of female, bisexual and male flowers. Note that petal growth is delayed in bisexual flowers, but not as much as in male flowers. Anthesis in the bisexual flowers is delayed even more than in male flowers. Statistical analysis was performed using the LSD method (p ≤ 0.05; n = 15).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Involvement of ethylene in the parthenocarpic development of Cavili fruit. (A) Comparison of ovary/fruit growth between the parthenocarpic cv. Cavili (bisexual and unpollinated flowers) and the non-parthenocarpic cv. Tosca (female and unpollinated flowers).(B) Comparison of ethylene production in unpollinated ovaries/fruits of Cavili and Tosca(C) Expression of ethylene biosynthesis, perception and response genes in unpollinated ovaries of Cavili and Tosca at 3 DPA.(D) Effects of ethylene releasing (ethephon) and blocking reagents (AVG and STS) on the percentage of bisexual parthenocarpic flowers in Cavili and Tosca. Different letters indicate statistical differences between treatments within each cultivar (p ≤ 0.05; n = 15; lowercase Tosca; uppercase, Cavili).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Effects of NAA + NAAmide and TIBA on fruit growth rates and the evolution of ethylene production in Cavili and Tosca. (A) Fruit growth rates in Cavili.(B) Ethylene production in Cavili.(C) Fruith growth rates in Tosca.(D) Ethylene production in Tosca. Ovaries were treated at anthesis. Different letters at the same time point indicate significant differences between treatments (p ≤ 0.05; n = 15 for ovary growth and n = 4 for ethylene production).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Effect of NAA and TIBA on the expression of ethylene genes. Flowers were treated at anthesis, and the expression of ethylene biosynthesis, perception and signalling genes was determined in the ovaries/fruit at 3 DPA, when ethylene production is induced in unpollinated ovaries. Each data point represents the mean of 3 replicates with 3 ovaries/fruits each. Error bars indicate SE.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Ethylene-auxin interactions in the control on sex determination and fruit set in zucchini squash. During female flower development (before anthesis), ethylene controls the arrest of stamens and the proper maturation of the flower. In the days immediately after anthesis, ethylene regulates negatively fruit set and early fruit development. In fact, a reduction of ethylene in the flower not only induces the conversion of female into bisexual flowers, but also promotes the parthenocarpic development of the fruit. After anthesis, therefore, ethylene production needs to be prevented for a proper development of the ovary and consequently for fruit set and early fruit development. The inhibition of ethylene biosynthesis and signalling in the ovary of zucchini is likely to be caused by auxin, since we have found that auxin regulate negatively ethylene production and signalling during this developmental period. The prevention of ethylene production after pollination is likely to be mediated by auxin, although this has not been proven in this paper (dashed lines).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Abeles FB, Morgan PW, Salveit ME. Ethylene in plant biology. 2. California: Academic Press; 1992.
    1. Barry CS, Giovannoni JJ. Ethylene and fruit ripening. J Plant Growth Regul. 2007;26:143–159. doi: 10.1007/s00344-007-9002-y. - DOI
    1. Rudich J. In: Biology and utilization of the Cucurbitaceae. Bates DM, Robinson RW, editor. Ithaca-NY: Cornell University Press; 1990. Biochemical aspects of hormonal regulation of sex expression in Cucurbits; pp. 269–280.
    1. Manzano S, Martínez C, Megías Z, Gómez P, Garrido D, Jamilena M. The role of ethylene and brassinosteroids in the control of sex expression and flower development in Cucurbita pepo. Plant Growth Regul. 2011;65:213–221. doi: 10.1007/s10725-011-9589-7. - DOI
    1. Manzano S, Martínez C, Megías Z, Gómez P, Garrido D, Jamilena M. Involvement of ethylene biosynthesis and signalling in the transition from male to female flowering in the MonoeciousCucurbita pepo. J Plant Growth Regul. 2013.http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00344-013-9344-6. - DOI

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Related information

LinkOut - more resources

Full text links
BioMed Central full text link BioMed Central Free PMC article
Cite
Send To

NCBI Literature Resources

MeSHPMCBookshelfDisclaimer

The PubMed wordmark and PubMed logo are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Unauthorized use of these marks is strictly prohibited.

[8]ページ先頭
©2009-2025 Movatter.jp