Gas Chromatography-Based Ethylene Measurement of Arabidopsis Seedlings

Plants tightly regulate the biosynthesis of ethylene to control growth and development and respond to a wide range of biotic and abiotic stresses. To understand the molecular mechanism by which plants regulate ethylene biosynthesis as well as to identify stimuli triggering the alteration of ethylene production in plants, it is essential to have a reliable tool with which one can directly measure in vivo ethylene concentration. Gas chromatography is a routine detection technique for separation and analysis of volatile compounds with relatively high sensitivity. Gas chromatography has been widely used to measure the ethylene produced by plants, and has in turn become a valuable tool for ethylene research. Here, we describe a protocol for measuring the ethylene produced by dark-grown Arabidopsis seedlings using a gas chromatograph.

Analysis of ethylene biosynthesis and perception during postharvest cold storage of Marsh and Star Ruby grapefruits

Grapefruits are among the citrus species more sensitive to cold and develop chilling injury symptoms during prolonged postharvest storage at temperatures lower than 8 ℃–10 ℃. The plant hormone ethylene has been described either to protect or potentiate chilling injury development in citrus whereas little is known about transcriptional regulation of ethylene biosynthesis, perception and response during cold storage and how the hormone is regulating its own perception and signaling cascade. Then, the objective of the present study was to explore the transcriptional changes in the expression of ethylene biosynthesis, receptors and response genes during cold storage of the white Marsh and the red Star Ruby grapefruits. The effect of the ethylene action inhibitor, 1-MCP, was evaluated to investigate the involvement of ethylene in the regulation of the genes of its own biosynthesis and perception pathway. Ethylene production was very low at the harvest time in fruits of both varieties and experienced only minor changes during storage. By contrast, inhibition of ethylene perception by 1-MCP markedly induced ethylene production, and this increase was highly stimulated during shelf-life at 20 ℃, as well as transcription of ACS and ACO. These results support the auto-inhibitory regulation of ethylene in grapefruits, which acts mainly at the transcriptional level of ACS and ACO genes. Moreover, ethylene receptor1 and ethylene receptor3 were induced by cold while no clear role of ethylene was observed in the induction of ethylene receptors. However, ethylene appears to be implicated in the transcriptional regulation of ERFs both under cold storage and shelf-life.

Current methods for detecting ethylene in plants

BACKGROUND

In view of ethylene's critical developmental and physiological roles the gaseous hormone remains an active research topic for plant biologists. Progress has been made to understand the ethylene biosynthesis pathway and the mechanisms of perception and action. Still numerous questions need to be answered and findings to be validated. Monitoring gas production will very often complete the picture of any ethylene research topic. Therefore the search for suitable ethylene measuring methods for various plant samples either in the field, greenhouses, laboratories or storage facilities is strongly motivated.

SCOPE

This review presents an update of the current methods for ethylene monitoring in plants. It focuses on the three most-used methods - gas chromatography detection, electrochemical sensing and optical detection - and compares them in terms of sensitivity, selectivity, time response and price. Guidelines are provided for proper selection and application of the described sensor methodologies and some specific applications are illustrated of laser-based detector for monitoring ethylene given off by Arabidopsis thaliana upon various nutritional treatments.

CONCLUSIONS

Each method has its advantages and limitations. The choice for the suitable ethylene sensor needs careful consideration and is driven by the requirements for a specific application.