Abstract
Ethylene is a key hormone in plant development, mediating plant responses to abiotic environmental stress, and interactions with attackers and mutualists. Here, we provide a synthesis of the role of ethylene in the context of plant ecology and evolution, and a prospectus for future research in this area. We focus on the regulatory function of ethylene in multi-organismal interactions. In general, plant interactions with different types of organisms lead to reduced or enhanced levels of ethylene. This in turn affects not only the plant's response to the interacting organism at hand, but also to other organisms in the community. These community-level effects become observable as enhanced or diminished relationships with future commensals, and systemic resistance or susceptibility to secondary attackers. Ongoing comparative genomic and phenotypic analyses continue to shed light on these interactions. These studies have revealed that plants and interacting organisms from separate kingdoms of life have independently evolved the ability to produce, perceive, and respond to ethylene. This signature of convergent evolution of ethylene signaling at the phenotypic level highlights the central role ethylene metabolism and signaling plays in plant interactions with microbes and animals.
Highlights
Ethylene gas (C2H4) is studied mostly in the context of its role as a hormone and regulator of plant development and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses
Ethylene plays a central role in plant interactions with microbes and insects, which is exemplified by the fact that a variety of these organisms produce and perceive ethylene and use it as a signal
We provide an overview of the evolution of each compartment of ethylene signaling – biosynthesis, perception, and signal transduction – in plants, and in the organisms with which plants interact
Summary
Ethylene gas (C2H4) is studied mostly in the context of its role as a hormone and regulator of plant development and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Ethylene plays a central role in plant interactions with microbes and insects, which is exemplified by the fact that a variety of these organisms produce and perceive ethylene and use it as a signal.
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