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Journal ArticleDOI

Effects of Ethylene and 2-Chloroethylphosphonic Acid on the Ripening of Grapes

01 May 1970-Plant Physiology (American Society of Plant Biologists)-Vol. 45, Iss: 5, pp 620-623
TL;DR: The results demonstrate the importance of the slow growth stage in grape berry development and suggest that an auxin-ethylene relationship may be involved in the regulation of grape ripening.
Abstract: The effects of ethylene gas, 2-chloroethylphosphonic acid, and the auxin, benzothiazole-2-oxyacetic acid, on the ripening of grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) was investigated. Ethylene hastened the start of ripening of Doradillo grapes when it was aplied for 10 days starting midway through the slow growth phase. 2-Chloroethylphosphonic acid applied to Shiraz grapes showed the same effect, but when it was applied earlier, during the second half of the first rapid growth phase or at the start of the slow growth phase of berry development, it delayed ripening. 2-Chloroethylphosphonic acid and benzothiazole-2-oxyacetic acid delayed the ripening of Doradillo grapes, and ethylene partially reversed the effect of benzothiazole-2-oxyacetic acid. The results demonstrate the importance of the slow growth stage in grape berry development and suggest that an auxin-ethylene relationship may be involved in the regulation of grape ripening.

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Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The first high-resolution picture of the transcriptome dynamics that occur during seven stages of grape berry development is revealed and a set of previously unknown genes potentially involved in critical steps associated with fruit development can now be subjected to functional testing.
Abstract: Grape berry development is a dynamic process that involves a complex series of molecular genetic and biochemical changes divided into three major phases. During initial berry growth (Phase I), berry size increases along a sigmoidal growth curve due to cell division and subsequent cell expansion, and organic acids (mainly malate and tartrate), tannins, and hydroxycinnamates accumulate to peak levels. The second major phase (Phase II) is defined as a lag phase in which cell expansion ceases and sugars begin to accumulate. Veraison (the onset of ripening) marks the beginning of the third major phase (Phase III) in which berries undergo a second period of sigmoidal growth due to additional mesocarp cell expansion, accumulation of anthocyanin pigments for berry color, accumulation of volatile compounds for aroma, softening, peak accumulation of sugars (mainly glucose and fructose), and a decline in organic acid accumulation. In order to understand the transcriptional network responsible for controlling berry development, mRNA expression profiling was conducted on berries of V. vinifera Cabernet Sauvignon using the Affymetrix GeneChip® Vitis oligonucleotide microarray ver. 1.0 spanning seven stages of berry development from small pea size berries (E-L stages 31 to 33 as defined by the modified E-L system), through veraison (E-L stages 34 and 35), to mature berries (E-L stages 36 and 38). Selected metabolites were profiled in parallel with mRNA expression profiling to understand the effect of transcriptional regulatory processes on specific metabolite production that ultimately influence the organoleptic properties of wine. Over the course of berry development whole fruit tissues were found to express an average of 74.5% of probes represented on the Vitis microarray, which has 14,470 Unigenes. Approximately 60% of the expressed transcripts were differentially expressed between at least two out of the seven stages of berry development (28% of transcripts, 4,151 Unigenes, had pronounced (≥2 fold) differences in mRNA expression) illustrating the dynamic nature of the developmental process. The subset of 4,151 Unigenes was split into twenty well-correlated expression profiles. Expression profile patterns included those with declining or increasing mRNA expression over the course of berry development as well as transient peak or trough patterns across various developmental stages as defined by the modified E-L system. These detailed surveys revealed the expression patterns for genes that play key functional roles in phytohormone biosynthesis and response, calcium sequestration, transport and signaling, cell wall metabolism mediating expansion, ripening, and softening, flavonoid metabolism and transport, organic and amino acid metabolism, hexose sugar and triose phosphate metabolism and transport, starch metabolism, photosynthesis, circadian cycles and pathogen resistance. In particular, mRNA expression patterns of transcription factors, abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis, and calcium signaling genes identified candidate factors likely to participate in the progression of key developmental events such as veraison and potential candidate genes associated with such processes as auxin partitioning within berry cells, aroma compound production, and pathway regulation and sequestration of flavonoid compounds. Finally, analysis of sugar metabolism gene expression patterns indicated the existence of an alternative pathway for glucose and triose phosphate production that is invoked from veraison to mature berries. These results reveal the first high-resolution picture of the transcriptome dynamics that occur during seven stages of grape berry development. This work also establishes an extensive catalog of gene expression patterns for future investigations aimed at the dissection of the transcriptional regulatory hierarchies that govern berry development in a widely grown cultivar of wine grape. More importantly, this analysis identified a set of previously unknown genes potentially involved in critical steps associated with fruit development that can now be subjected to functional testing.

401 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The grape has been classified as a non-climacteric fruit whose ripening is thought to be ethylene independent, but it is shown here that a transient increase of endogenous ethylene production occurs just before veraison (i.e. inception of ripening).

336 citations


Cites background from "Effects of Ethylene and 2-Chloroeth..."

  • ...…4 grape ripening can be either inhibited or promoted by exogenous ethylene, depending on the 5 application time over the berry development period (Hale et al. 1970); (ii) the observation of a 6 peak of ethylene production around veraison (Alleweldt and Koch, 1977), and (iii) the 7 availability…...

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  • ...Indeed, Hale et al. (1970) and 8 others (Weaver and Montgomery, 1974; Shulman et al., 1985) observed that these 9 applications enhanced acidity drop and the accumulation of red pigments....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Berries on field-grown Vitis vinifera cv.
Abstract: Berries on field-grown Vitis vinifera cv. Doradillo were treated at different times during stage II with benzothiazole-2-oxyacetic acid or 2-chloroethylphosphonic acid, and measurements were made of their growth and hormone content. The concentration of ethylene was low during stage II and declined as berries ripened. Both 2-chloroethylphosphonic acid and benzothiazole-2-oxyacetic acid caused increases in ethylene concentration, yet they had varying effects on ripening: the former applied at the start of stage II and the latter applied 1 week before the end of stage II delayed ripening, while 2-chloroethylphosphonic acid applied at the end of stage II hastened ripening.The abscisic acid content of berries increased as they ripened, and the effects of 2-chloroethylphosphonic acid and benzothiazole-2-oxyacetic acid on abscisic acid levels were correlated with the effect of these compounds on ripening. The roles of abscisic acid and ethylene in the regulation of the ripening of grapes are discussed.

297 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Observations support the view that auxins (perhaps in conjunction with abscisic acid) may have a role in the control of grape berry ripening by affecting the expression of genes involved in the ripening process.
Abstract: Treatment of grape (Vitis vinifera L.) berries with the synthetic auxin-like compound benzothiazole-2-oxyacetic acid (BTOA) caused a delay in the onset of ripening of approximately 2 weeks. This was manifested as a retardation of the increases in berry weight, color, deformability, and hexose concentration. BTOA treatment also delayed by 2 weeks the increase in abscisic acid level that normally accompanies ripening and altered the expression of a number of developmentally regulated genes. A putative vacuolar invertase, which is normally expressed from berry set until ripening and turned off after ripening commences, remained expressed throughout development in BTOA-treated grape berries. This elevated expression resulted in increased levels of invertase activity. In contrast, the up-regulation of four other genes normally switched on at the time of ripening was delayed in BTOA-treated fruit. These included chalcone synthase and UDP-glucose-flavonoid 3-O-glucosyl transferase, both of which are involved in anthocyanin synthesis, a chitinase, and a ripening-related gene of an unknown function. These observations support the view that auxins (perhaps in conjunction with abscisic acid) may have a role in the control of grape berry ripening by affecting the expression of genes involved in the ripening process.

275 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This data is the first evidence that ethylene triggers gene expression related to anthocyanin synthesis in grapes, and the results also confirm the existence of other regulatory modes in the anthOCyanin biosynthetic pathway.
Abstract: The treatment of grape berries (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cabernet Sauvignon) with the ethylene-releasing compound, 2-chloroethylphosphonic acid (2-CEPA), at veraison is a method known to enhance grape skin colour. We observed that it produced a 6-fold increase, up to 30 pmol g1 FW, of the cluster internal ethylene compared to untreated controls within the 24 h following treatment. This ethylene upsurge was associated with increased levels of chalcone synthase (CHS) and flavanone 3-hydroxylase (F3H) transcripts, which persisted over the following 20 days. Transcript levels of leucoanthocyanidin dioxygenase (LDOX) and UDP glucose-flavonoid 3-O-glucosyl transferase (UFGT) were similarly enhanced by 2-CEPA, although to a lesser extent. The effect on UFGT was confirmed at the protein level by an immunoblot analysis. The transcript accumulation of dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR) was unaffected by 2-CEPA treatment. Examination of the levels of CHS, F3H and UFGT mRNAs in berries during bunch exposure to ethylene, revealed elevated levels of each transcript within the first 6 h of treatment when compared to nonethylene-treated controls. HPLC analyses of berry skin extracts showed that levels of each of the anthocyanins analysed (delphinidin, cyanidin, petunidin, peonidin and malvidin) increased over the 10 days following the ethylene burst, and decreased thereafter. However, anthocyanin levels at harvest were still higher in ethylene treated grapes than in controls. This data is the first evidence that ethylene triggers gene expression related to anthocyanin synthesis in grapes, and in addition, our results also confirm the existence of other regulatory modes in the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway.

247 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
28 May 1965-Science
TL;DR: Experiments indicate that ethylene is derived from acetate or acids of the Krebs cycle and acts by binding to a metal receptor site in the tissue, and reinforces the view that Ethylene is a ripening hormone.
Abstract: Recent studies employing gas chromatography show that an amount of ethylene large enough to stimulate ripening is always present within a fruit before the respiratory climacteric begins. This fact and data from experiments in which fruits were exposed to a partial vacuum or varying concentrations of O(2), CO(2), and ethylene oxide reinforces the view that ethylene is a ripening hormone. The respiratory climacteric begins soon after the fruit is harvested because the tissue no longer receives from the shoot system a substance which inhibits ripening; this substance may act by lowering the sensitivity of the fruit to ethylene. The threshold for ethylene action is also influenced by the composition of the atmosphere, for O(2) is a substrate in the reaction activated by ethylene and CO(2) inhibits the action of ethylene by competing with the olefin for the receptor site. Experiments indicate that ethylene is derived from acetate or acids of the Krebs cycle and acts by binding to a metal receptor site in the tissue.

335 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The effect of temperature, auxins, antiauxins, and some other chemicals on the endogenous rhythm affecting photoperiodic response of Biloxi soybean (Glycine max. L.; Merr.).
Abstract: 1. BfiNNING, E. 1931. Untersuchungen fiber die autonomen tagesperiodischen Bewegungen der Primarblatter von Phaseolus multiflorus. Jahrb. wiss. Bot. 75: 439-480. 2. GARNER, W. W. and H. A. ALLARD 1931. Effect of abnormally long and short alterations of light and darkness on growth and development of plants. Jour. Agr. Res. 42: 629-651. 3. GRIESEL, W. 0. and J. B. BIALE 1958. Respiratory trends in perianth segments of Magnolia grandiflora. Amer. Jour. Bot. 45: 660-663. 4. HIGHKIN, H. R. and J. B. HANSON 1954. Possible interaction between light-dark cycles and endogenous daily rhythms on the growth of tomato plants. Plant Physiol. 29: 301-302. 5. HILLMAN, W. S. 1956. Injury of tomato plants by continuous light and unfavorable photoperiodic cycles. Amer. Jour. Bot. 43: 89-96. 6. NANDA, K. K. and K. C. HAMNER 1959. The effect of temperature, auxins, antiauxins, and some other chemicals on the endogenous rhythm affecting photoperiodic response of Biloxi soybean (Glycine max. L.; Merr.). Planta 53: 53-68. 7. RICHTER, G. and A. PIRSON 1957. Enzyme von Hydrodictyon und ihre Beeinflussung durch Beleuchtungsperiodik. Flora 144: 562-597. 8. VERKERK, K. 1955. Temperature, light, and the tomato. Mededel. Landbouwhogeschool Wageningen 55: 176-224. 9. WENT, F. W. 1957. The Experimental Control of Plant Growth. Chronica Botanica Co., Waltham.

204 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The chemical mechanism of ethylene production from CEPA involves the nucleophilic attack on -the phosphonate dianion by a water molecule and the concerted elimination of chlorine, leading to direct formation of phosphate and chloride as shown in equation (I).
Abstract: 2-Chloroethylphosphonic acid (CEPA. "Amchem 66-329", "Ethrel"; ref. 1), a new plant growth regulator, degrades to yield ethylene in an alkaline solution. When applied to plants, it has been very effective in causing responses characteristic of ethylene treatment (3, 4, 6, 7). The formation of ethvlene or its alkene homologs from CEPA or its homologs was studied and deFcribed in detail in 1963 by Maynard and Swan (5) including the probable reaction mechanism. Nevertheless, several reports have since appeared describing the same reaction wi.thout citing (4, 8) or properly acknowledging (3) their work. Some investigators (7) have since suggested that the growth regulatory action of CEPA is due to the stimulation of ethylene production within the plant tissues without discussing the fact that CEPA itself is the ethylene producer. The chemical mechanism of ethylene production from CEPA suggested by Maynard and Swan (5) involves the nucleophilic attack on -the phosphonate dianion by a water molecule and the concerted elimination of chlorine, leading to direct formation of phosphate and chloride as shown in equation (I). Probably the OH-ion may also serve as an nucleophile in the reaction.

182 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is proposed that ethylene may, through its effect on transport, cause localized shortages and surpluses of auxin which in turn contribute to symptoms now associated with the response of sensitive species to ethylene.
Abstract: The effect of ethylene on the uptake, distribution and polar transport of C 14 from indole-3-acetic acid-2-C 14 and naphthalene acetic acid-1-C 14 in tissue sections was studied. Test species were cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum , L.) and cowpea ( Vigna sinensis , Endl.). Generally, incubation of tissue or intact plants with ethylene reduced the degree of polar auxin transport. Ethylene inhibited the movement of both auxins in stem tissue and IAA in petiole tissue of cotton. The effect of ethylene on auxin movement in cow-peas was more complex. Ethylene apparently inhibited transport in younger petiole and stem tissue, but stimulated the process to a small but significant degree in basal petiole segments. Ethylene, in some experiments, reduced C 14 (auxin) uptake. This reduction was consistently smaller than the inhibition of transport. Effects upon transport were observed when uptake was not different. Differences in uptake declined as the period of incubation with auxin was lengthened, but transport was inhibited for up to 23 hours. It is proposed that ethylene may, through its effect on transport, cause localized shortages and surpluses of auxin which in turn contribute to symptoms now associated with the response of sensitive species to ethylene.

159 citations