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Regulatory Components of Ethylene Signal Transduction

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Ethylene in Plants

Abstract

Ethylene, the simple but vital gaseous hormone, affects an extensive array of developmental processes and responses to external and internal cues in plants. Extensive molecular genetic investigations during the past two decades have established a linear ethylene signaling pathway starting from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane-spanning receptors to nuclear-localized transcription factors in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The pathway involves negative regulation of ethylene signaling by ethylene receptor family members and Raf-like CONSTITUTIVE TRIPLE-RESPONSE1 (CTR1) and positive regulation by ER-associated ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE2 (EIN2) and nuclear-localized EIN3 and EIN3-LIKE1 (EIL1). Although ethylene is the signaling molecule that switches off the negative regulation by the receptors, several components fine-tune the signaling. In this chapter, we briefly summarize studies of ethylene signal transduction to give an overall picture of the ethylene signaling cascade. We also discuss regulatory components modifying the signaling components in the ethylene signaling pathway. Finally, we pose intriguing questions related to ethylene actions.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (2011CB100700 and 2012AA10A302-2) to CK Wen and National Natural Science Foundation of China (91217305 and 91017010) to H Guo.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China

    Chi-Kuang Wen

  2. State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, College of Life Science, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Wenyang Li

  3. State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, College of Life Science, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Hongwei Guo

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  1. Chi-Kuang Wen
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  2. Wenyang Li
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  3. Hongwei Guo
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Correspondence to Chi-Kuang Wen .

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  1. Inst. of Plant Physiology and Ecology, National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Shanghai Inst. for Biological Sciences Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China

    Chi-Kuang Wen

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Wen, CK., Li, W., Guo, H. (2015). Regulatory Components of Ethylene Signal Transduction. In: Wen, CK. (eds) Ethylene in Plants. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9484-8_5

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