ABSTRACT
Plant culture provides experimental systems well suited to the study of plant growth and development. Ethylene has received less attention, but the fact that ethylene production is regulated by auxins and cytokinins suggests that ethylene might mediate many auxin and cytokinin responses. This chapter reviews what is known about ethylene production in culture, and assesses the possible role of ethylene in regulating growth and development in vitro. The importance of Ethylene-Forming Enzyme (EFE) as a determinant of ethylene production rate was clearly shown by Puschmann and Romani in studies of cultured pear cells. The two plant hormones abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellins (GAs) have received relatively little attention with regard to ethylene biosynthesis in culture. Ethylene biosynthesis is universal in cultured plant cells and, where studied, occurs by the same biosynthetic pathway as in the intact plant. Several studies have shown that carbohydrates stimulate ethylene production in plant tissues.
