ABSTRACT
Ethylene is perhaps the most extensively studied of all plant growth regulators. Advances in recombinant DNA technology have allowed the isolation and characterization of a number of ethylene-regulated genes and studies are in progress to elucidate the mechanism of ethylene action at the level of gene expression. This chapter focuses on recent advances in this area, with special emphasis on the role of ethylene in regulating gene expression during fruit ripening, plant senescence, and plant stress. The response of the E8 gene to ethylene is organ specific in that ethylene treatment of leaf tissue had little effect on gene expression. The response of the E8 gene to ethylene is organ specific in that ethylene treatment of leaf tissue had little effect on gene expression. One possible mechanism that can be invoked to explain the activation of gene expression by ethylene is analogous to the mechanism of glucocorticoid-induced gene expression in animals.
