Plant Growth Regulation - Special Issue: Flower Senescence – Physiology and Molecular Biology

Floriculture driven by scientific advancements and consistent supply of superior plant materials has evolved into a significant sector in many nations. The global floriculture industry, now exceeding USD 50 millions and continuously expanding relies on diverse flower crops for their vibrancy and economic significance. The industry, particularly cut flowers have enticed people world over due to their diversity in shape, attractive visual colours and fragrant cues. It has huge commercial potential and therefore, programmed cell death leading to floral senescence presents serious economic implications. Consumers appreciate long lasting flowers and the distribution industry desires reduction in deterioration of flower quality in the distribution chain. Floral senescence is a highly programmed and coordinated event regulating the metabolic activities leading to structural, enzymatic and molecular changes and consequently shortening the useful life of flowers. Floral organs show ageing development at varying speed, particularly petals show a quick deterioration limiting their commercial usage. The pre-destined, highly controlled senescence rates are also influenced by different plant hormones like ethylene, cytokinins, polyamines, and abscisic acid, as well as multiple physiological events. The insights into mechanisms governing the metabolic and molecular aspects of floral senescence will provide interesting opportunities to study senescence patterns, ethylene mediation effects, or identification of senescence delaying genes. The process is still poorly understood and the research emphasis in this area will highlight the associations and regulatory pathways to slow the senescence dynamics and encourage future studies deciphering associations between colour changes, wilting, drooping, fragrant volatiles and senescence specific markers.

A complex interaction between different genes has been observed by various workers in different flowers and flower organs. A significant number of genes have been identified to show upregulation in their expression patterns while many others have shown down-regulation on the molecular aspects of floral senescence. Further, work is required for isolation, identification, characterization, differential gene expression, signal transduction of several senescence-related genes from different flowers, mostly from the petals. Numerous transcription factors are also implicated, and further research is necessary to determine if they play a crucial role(s) in floral senescence. The exposure to ethylene, exogenously or endogenous production is known to influence vase life dramatically. Thus, studies on ethylene production, associated gene expressions, different molecular events and signaling may offer vital research insights and technical reference into mechanisms governing flower senescence.

This special issue aims to present the information generated from a number of works on physiological aspects as well as isolation, characterization and identification of genes expressed during flower senescence with the intention to update the available research on some molecular aspects of flower senescence, as in-depth understanding of the senescence and its regulation at molecular level is essential for bringing the possible improvement in floriculture.

This special issue will focus primarily on physio-molecular aspects of flower senescence. Articles on the following potential topics (but not limited to) in relation to flower senescence are welcome:

• Ethylene regulation and signaling of flower senescence
• Physiological aspects of flower senescence
• Evolutionary aspects of flower senescence
• Antioxidants and flower senescence
• Molecular aspects of flower senescence
• Omics (Proteomics, Metabolomics and Transcriptomics)
• Gene expression and genome editing

We look forward to receiving your submissions by 30 September 2024.

Guest Editors

• Kalyan Barman
  PhD, Banaras Hindu University, India
  Sudip Kumar Dutta
• PhD, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, India
  P.K. Nagar
• PhD, Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, India