Food Biotechnology Division, National Food Research Institute, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization , Tsukuba, Japan.
Published: June 2015
AI Article Synopsis
Article Abstract
To shed unfertilized flowers or ripe fruits, many plant species develop a pedicel abscission zone (AZ), a specialized tissue that develops between the organ and the main body of the plant. Regulation of pedicel abscission is an important agricultural concern because pre-harvest abscission can reduce yields of fruit or grain crops, such as apples, rice, wheat, etc. Tomato has been studied as a model system for abscission, as tomato plants develop a distinct AZ at the midpoint of the pedicel and several tomato mutants, such as jointless, have pedicels that lack an AZ. This mini-review focuses on recent advances in research on the mechanisms regulating tomato pedicel abscission. Molecular genetic studies revealed that three MADS-box transcription factors interactively play a central role in pedicel AZ development. Transcriptome analyses identified activities involved in abscission and also found novel transcription factors that may regulate AZ activities. Another study identified transcription factors mediating abscission pathways from induction signals to activation of cell wall hydrolysis. These recent findings in tomato will enable significant advances in understanding the regulation of abscission in other key agronomic species.
Programa de Pós‑graduação em Botânica, Escola Nacional de Botânica Tropical, Rua Pacheco Leão 2040, Solar da Imperatriz, Rio de Janeiro, 22460‑036, Brazil.
In the Malveae tribe (Malvaceae), the axis supporting the flower has a joint at the upper third. This axis can be considered as an articulated pedicel, peduncle, peduncle-pedicel, or anthopodium. Such disparity in terminology reveals a duality in interpretation since this structure is classified as part of the inflorescence or part of the flower.
Muscadines struggle in the fresh market due to high manual labor costs, prompting exploration of mechanical harvesting as a solution, which necessitates cultivars with easily detached fruit.
The study examined fruit and pedicel traits across 18 muscadine genotypes to determine factors influencing fruit detachment force (FDF) and analyzed gene expression in two genotypes with differing FDF levels.
Findings showed that characteristics like pedicel length and fruit diameter were linked to FDF, and identified novel genes and pathways, contributing to the goal of creating machine-harvestable muscadine varieties for more sustainable production.
To address food security challenges and climate change, the polyploid wild rice has been explored as a potential crop, although it suffers from seed shattering. We employed mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) to deliver small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) for targeted gene silencing. Foliar spraying of MSN-siRNA complexes effectively delivered siRNA, resulting in up to 70% gene silencing of the gene and 75% silencing of the transgenic gene.
Through the histological, physiological, and transcriptome-level identification of the abscission zone of Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Liqiu', we explored the structure and the genes related to seed shattering, ultimately revealing the regulatory network of seed shattering in P. alopecuroides. Pennisetum alopecuroides is one of the most representative ornamental grass species of Pennisetum genus.
Key Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), Institute of Agro-Bioengineering/College of Life Sciences, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025 Guizhou China.
Unlabelled: Sweet cherry ( L.) is one of the most economically important fruits in the world. However, severe fruit abscission has brought significant challenges to the cherry industry.
