Ethylene: A gaseous signaling molecule with diverse roles

Ethylene is one of the most important plant hormones of the five classical hormones and has been used in agriculture since ancient times. It has long been recognized as the plant hormone responsible for fruit ripening. Unlike other plant hormones, ethylene may freely diffuse across membranes as a gaseous hormone and is assumed to be generated at or near its site of action. Ethylene has a significant impact on the development and senescence of organisms. It’s important for blooming induction, flower bud opening, and abscission, and it’s also produced in large amounts during leaf senescence and abscission. It increases adventitious root production, stem and petiole elongation, and stomatal aperture opening and closing. However, the multifunctional ability of ethylene in regulating physiological and molecular mechanisms is currently being explored. In this chapter, we briefly covered the significant aspects of ethylene biology in plants: a general account of ethylene, biosynthesis and signaling, approaches to ethylene biosynthesis with and without ethylene modulators in ideal and stressed conditions, a general aspect of ethylene and plant responses, and cross-talk with the other plant hormones.