AOBPreview originally published online on January 4, 2006
Annals of Botany 2006 97(3):309-315; doi:10.1093/aob/mcj051
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BOTANICAL BRIEFING |
Programmed Cell Death in Floral Organs: How and Why do Flowers Die?
School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Main Building, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3TL, UK
* E-mail rogershj{at}cf.ac.uk
Received: 4 October 2005 Returned for revision: 12 October 2005 Accepted: 29 November 2005 Published electronically: 4 January 2006
• Background Flowers have a species-specific, limited life span with an irreversible programme of senescence, which is largely independent of environmental factors, unlike leaf senescence, which is much more closely linked with external stimuli.
• Timing Life span of the whole flower is regulated for ecological and energetic reasons, but the death of individual tissues and cells within the flower is co-ordinated at many levels to ensure correct timing. Some floral cells die selectively during organ development, whereas others are retained until the whole organ dies.
• Triggers Pollination is an important floral cell death trigger in many species, and its effects are mediated by the plant growth regulator (PGR) ethylene. In some species ethylene is a major regulator of floral senescence, but in others it plays a very minor role and the co-ordinating signals involved remain elusive. Other PGRs such as cytokinin and brassinosteroids are also important but their role is understood only in some specific systems.
• Mechanisms In two floral cell types (the tapetum and the pollen-tube) there is strong evidence for apoptotic-type cell death, similar to that in animal cells. However, in petals there is stronger evidence for an autophagous type of cell death involving endoplasmic reticulum-derived vesicles and the vacuole. Proteases are important, and homologues to animal caspases, key regulators of animal cell death, exist in plants. However, their role is not yet clear.
• Comparison with Other Organs There are similarities to cell death in other plant organs, and many of the same genes are up-regulated in both leaf and petal senescence; however, there are also important differences for example in the role of PGRs.
• Conclusions Understanding gene regulation may help to understand cell death in floral organs better, but alone it cannot provide all the answers.
Key words: Programmed cell death, flowers, petal, tapetum, pollen-tubes, senescence, ethylene, apoptosis, autophagy, ricinosomes, metacaspases, chromoplasts
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