ethylene-signaling
Ethylene signaling is the molecular pathway by which plants perceive and respond to ethylene gas, a simple gaseous hormone that regulates key developmental processes including seed germination, fruit ripening, flower opening, and leaf abscission. Understanding this pathway is central to plant biology research because ethylene coordinates both normal growth stages and stress responses, making it a critical target for studying how plants adapt to environmental challenges and how agricultural traits like ripening can be controlled.
open_in_new WikipediaPubMed · 2026-05-01
A permanently active version of a symbiosis gene from a legume, when introduced into tomato plants, reshapes how tomatoes defend themselves and develop—acting through ethylene, a key plant hormone. This cross-species finding reveals an unexpected link between the plant's microbial partnership machinery and its immune system.
The gain-of-function MtDMI1 mutant (SPD1) successfully reprogrammed immune responses when expressed in tomato, demonstrating cross-species functional transfer of a symbiosis gene
Effects on immunity and development were mediated through the ethylene signaling pathway, revealing a previously undercharacterized link between symbiosis and hormone networks
The Common Symbiosis Signalling Pathway, typically studied for its role in beneficial microbe recruitment, has untapped potential for engineering crop traits beyond symbiosis itself
