Prolonged exposure to ethylene stimulates the negative gravitropic responses of Arabidopsis inflorescence stems and hypocotyls

Abstract

The actual effect of ethylene on shoot gravitropic response has been controversial. To elucidate the role of ethylene in the modulation of shoot gravitropic response, Arabidopsis inflorescences and light-grown seedlings were pretreated with 0.1-10 ^-1 of ethylene for either a long (12-48 h) or short term (0.5 h). When the gravicurvature was measured either in air or in ethylene, it was found that prolonged exposure to various levels of ethylene stimulated both inflorescence stem and hypocotyl gravicurvature in air, while the continued presence of ethylene immediately following reorientation of plant tissues inhibited gravicurvature of both tissues. Both stimulatory and inhibitory effects existed in inflorescence stems and hypocotyls when the plant tissues were exposed to a chosen concentration of ethylene. Stimulation by ethylene was stronger than its inhibition in inflorescence stems, while the reverse was true for the hypocotyls. Therefore, the continued presence of high levels of naturally produced ethylene in eto1-1 did not suppress the faster gravicurvature of inflorescence stems, whereas the removal of exogenously applied ethylene was necessary to observe faster gravicurvature of both the wild-type and eto1-1 hypocotyls. Both effects acted through the known ethylene receptor complex. These results strongly suggest that ethylene of a chosen concentration has opposing effects on the negative gravitropic responses of both inflorescence stems and hypocotyls. The ultimate negatively gravitropic behaviour of a plant tissue, when exposed to ethylene, depends on the dynamic interplay between these two opposing effects.