Genes Delaying the Aging of Flowering Plants

In the future, cut flowers and potted plants may stay fresh longer that they used to be. This can be made possible by delaying the aging process or senescence of flowering plants. Thus, U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant physiologist Cai-Zhong Jiang and colleagues are studying the gene-controlled mechanism of aging in plants.

To determine the role of genes in aging plants, they used tobacco rattle virus with inserted genes of interest. In this technique called virus-induced gene silencing, plants are exposed to the genetically-modified virus which makes the plants exhibit natural defense mechanisms such as "switching off" the virus together with the genes inserted into the virus. To prove this concept, Jiang and University of California-Davis professor Michael S. Raid conducted experiments using purple petunia exposed to virus with color-imparting gene and another gene fragment responsible for producing ethylene, an aging compound. This resulted to flowers with white splotches and with less ethylene produced compared to plants exposed to unmodified virus. These may be evidences that the genes in the virus were switched off.

For more information, visit http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100524.htm.