Abscission was studied in immature apple fruits (cv. Golden Delicious) during the physiological drop. Fruitlet populations, characterized by different abscission potential, were analysed. Non-abscising fruitlets (NAF) were obtained from central flowers borne in clusters where all the lateral flowers had been removed at bloom while abscising fruitlets (AF) were derived from lateral fruitlets of trees sprayed with benzylaminopurine (BAP) at 200 ppm, 17 d after petal fall (APF), when the fruit cross diameter was about 10-12 mm. Fruit shedding, monitored at the end of the June drop, was significantly different in the two populations, being less than 10%, and more than 90%, in NAF and AF, respectively. In AF, fruit drop peaked around 33 d after petal fall (APF) and was preceded by an increase in ethylene around 20 d APF. Transcript analysis was performed from 17-24 d APF, since preliminary experiments pointed out that major changes in expression of abscission related genes occurred within this period. Transcript accumulation of genes involved in ethylene biosynthesis (MdACS5B and MdACO) and action (MdERS1, MdETR1, and MdCTR1) was studied in the seed, cortex, peduncle, and abscission zone (AZ) of the two fruit populations. MdACS5B and MdACO transcripts accumulated along the experimental period in AF population, even though at a different magnitude, while ethylene evolution declined after peaking at day three. MdETR1, MdERS1, and MdCTR1 expression patterns depended on tissue and/or population. The ERS/ETR ratio was higher in AF than in NAF populations. Overall results pointed out that apple fruitlet drop is preceded by a stimulation of ethylene biosynthesis and a gain in sensitivity to the hormone.
Quantum and classical calculations of transport and relaxation cross sections in He-CO mixturesWe describe an infrared molecular beam spectrometer which uses a semiconductor diode laser and has been used to study the rotational relaxation of CO molecules in the free jet expansion of pure CO and a 90% He-\0% CO mixture. The data for the mixture are analyzed by means of a kinematical method based on the use of the master equation and empirically scaled state to state rate constants. Information of the He-CO rotationally inelastic rate constants are obtained. The possibility of using free jet expansion to study rotational inelastic collisions is discussed.
Apple (Malus domestica) fruitlet abscission represents an interesting model system to study the early phases of the shedding process, during which major transcriptomic changes and metabolic rearrangements occur within the fruit. In apple, the drop of fruits at different positions within the cluster can be selectively magnified through chemical thinners, such as benzyladenine and metamitron, acting as abscission enhancers. In this study, different abscission potentials were obtained within the apple fruitlet population by means of the above-cited thinners. A metabolomic study was conducted on the volatile organic compounds emitted by abscising fruitlets, allowing for identification of isoprene as an early marker of abscission induction. A strong correlation was also observed between isoprene production and abscisic acid (ABA) levels in the fruit cortex, which were shown to increase in abscising fruitlets with respect to nonabscising ones. Transcriptomic evidence indicated that abscissionrelated ABA is biologically active, and its increased biosynthesis is associated with the induction of a specific ABA-responsive 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase gene. According to a hypothetical model, ABA may transiently cooperate with other hormones and secondary messengers in the generation of an intrafruit signal leading to the downstream activation of the abscission zone. The shedding process therefore appears to be triggered by multiple interdependent pathways, whose fine regulation, exerted within a very short temporal window by both endogenous and exogenous factors, determines the final destiny of the fruitlets.
The second CH stretch overtone of benzene at the rotational temperature of about 20 K has been measured in a supersonic molecular beam. Infrared absorption has been detected by means of the optothermal method. At least seven vibrational bands have been resolved in the wave numbers range from 8740 to 8870 cm−1. The main absorption peak is located around 8827 cm−1, but a significant absorption is observed also in ‘‘red’’ region of the spectrum, around 8770 cm−1. Experimental spectra have been compared with a theoretical calculation carried out following the method of Sibert et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 81, 1115 (1984)]. No free parameters have been included in the calculation in order to improve the fit with experimental data. Calculations do not provide a detailed quantitative description of experimental data. However the two spectra are qualitatively similar: (a) both are characterized by a main absorption structure located in the 8820–8840 cm−1 region and (b) calculations confirm the experimental observation that a significant part of the CH oscillator strength is borrowed by lines located on the ‘‘red’’ side of the main peak.
Apple (Malus 3 domestica) is increasingly being considered an interesting model species for studying early fruit development, during which an extremely relevant phenomenon, fruitlet abscission, may occur as a response to both endogenous and/or exogenous cues. Several studies were carried out shedding light on the main physiological and molecular events leading to the selective release of lateral fruitlets within a corymb, either occurring naturally or as a result of a thinning treatment. Several studies pointed out a clear association between a rise of ethylene biosynthetic levels in the fruitlet and its tendency to abscise. A direct mechanistic link, however, has not yet been established between this gaseous hormone and the generation of the abscission signal within the fruit. In this work, the role of ethylene during the very early stages of abscission induction was investigated in fruitlet populations with different abscission potentials due either to the natural correlative inhibitions determining the so-called physiological fruit drop or to a well-tested thinning treatment performed with the cytokinin benzyladenine. A crucial role was ascribed to the ratio between the ethylene produced by the cortex and the expression of ethylene receptor genes in the seed. This ratio would determine the final probability to abscise. A working model has been proposed consistent with the differential distribution of four receptor transcripts within the seed, which resembles a spatially progressive cell-specific immune-like mechanism evolved by apple to protect the embryo from harmful ethylene.
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