Characterization of Early Molecular Events During Fruit Abscission in Higher Plants

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The long term goal of this research is to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that regulate fruit abscission in higher plants. It has been documented that cellulase (beta, 1:4 glucan glucanhydrolase) increases in the abscission zone of Phaseolus vulgaris during leaf fracture. It is also known that this increase in cellulase activity can be accelerated by the addition of exogenous ethylene. A cDNA clone, complementary to bean cellulase mRNA has been recently isolated and messenger RNA complementary to it has been shown to increase dramatically in the abscission zone several hours after ethylene treatment of bean. The kinetics suggest that other cellular events precede cellulase appearance in signalling abscission. One approach to identifying the mechanism through which ethylene promotes fruit abscission is to examine those genes which respond rapidly to externally applied ethylene. Dr. Klein proposes here to isolate and characterize ethylene responsive genes that are rapidly induced in the abscission zone and examine their expression during fruit abscission in tomato.