Title: Abscission: Regulation of Senescence, Protein Synthesis, and Enzyme Secretion By Ethylene
Abstract: Abstract Over 100 years ago, German investigators reported that defoliation was associated with the proximity of leaking illuminating gas mains (15), and it remained for Neliubov to show that the active component of illuminating gas was ethylene (23). Later, La Rue (20) reported that auxin played a role in abscission because addition of auxin delayed the separation of plant parts. Support for the central role for auxin in abscission stems from the observation that a reduction of auxin content precedes abscission (22). Ethylene was shown to be produced by plant tissue by Gane (14), and increases in the rate of ethylene production during ripening and fruit abscission was shown by Nelson (24) and, during leaf abscission, by Jackson and Osborne (18). A third abscission regulator was introduced when Ohkuma and Addicott (25) demonstrated the presence of abscisic acid (ABA) in rapidly abscissing cotton bolls.