Involvement of the ethylene response pathway in dormancy induction in chrysanthemum

Temperature plays a significant role in the annual cycling between growth and dormancy of the herbaceous perennial chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.). After exposure to high summer temperatures, cool temperature triggers dormancy. The cessation of flowering and rosette formation by the cessation of elongation are characteristic of dormant plants, and can be stimulated by exogenous ethylene. Thus, the ethylene response pathway may be involved in temperature-induced dormancy of chrysanthemum. Transgenic chrysanthemums expressing a mutated ethylene receptor gene were used to assess this involvement. The transgenic lines showed reduced ethylene sensitivity: ethylene causes leaf yellowing in wild-type chrysanthemums, but leaves remained green in the transgenic lines. Extension growth and flowering of wild-type and transgenic lines varied between temperatures: at 20 °C, the transgenic lines showed the same stem elongation and flowering as the wild type; at cooler temperatures, the wild type formed rosettes with an inability to flower and entered dormancy, but some transgenic lines continued to elongate and flower. This supports the involvement of the ethylene response pathway in the temperature-induced dormancy of chrysanthemum. At the highest dosage of ethephon, an ethylene-releasing agent, wild-type plants formed rosettes with an inability to flower and became dormant, but one transgenic line did not. This confirms that dormancy is induced via the ethylene response pathway.