Abstract
Leaf senescence represents a key developmental process through which resources trapped in the photosynthetic organ are degraded in an organized manner and transported away to sustain the growth of other organs including newly forming leaves, roots, seeds, and fruits. The optimal timing of the initiation and progression of senescence are thus prerequisites for controlled plant growth, biomass accumulation, and evolutionary success through seed dispersal. Recent research has uncovered a multitude of regulatory factors including transcription factors, micro-RNAs, protein kinases, and others that constitute the molecular networks that regulate senescence in plants. The timing of senescence is affected by environmental conditions and abiotic or biotic stresses typically trigger a faster senescence. Various phytohormones, including for example ethylene, abscisic acid, and salicylic acid, promote senescence, whereas cytokinins delay it. Recently, several reports have indicated an involvement of auxin in the control of senescence, however, its mode of action and point of interference with senescence control mechanisms remain vaguely defined at present and contrasting observations regarding the effect of auxin on senescence have so far hindered the establishment of a coherent model. Here, we summarize recent studies on auxin-related genes that affect senescence in plants and highlight how these findings might be integrated into current molecular-regulatory models of senescence.
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Acknowledgments
We thank the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) for funding (FOR 948; MU 1199/14-1 and 14-2, BA4769/1-2). We also thank the University of Potsdam and the Max-Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam-Golm, for supporting our research.
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344_2013_9398_MOESM1_ESM.xlsx
Table S1. Lists of senescence-associated genes (SAGs), senescence-down-regulated genes (SDGs), dark-regulated genes, H2O2-responsive genes, and auxin-responsive genes. (XLSX 467 kb)
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Mueller-Roeber, B., Balazadeh, S. Auxin and Its Role in Plant Senescence. J Plant Growth Regul 33, 21–33 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-013-9398-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-013-9398-5