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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 30, 2026

Utilizing the Ethylene-releasing Compound, 2-Chloroethylphosphonic Acid, as a Tool to Study Ethylene Response in Bacteria

Utilizing the Ethylene-releasing Compound, 2-Chloroethylphosphonic Acid, as a Tool to Study Ethylene Response in Bacteria

Published on: November 10, 2016

Plant Life without Ethylene.

Laurentius A C J Voesenek¹, Ronald Pierik¹, Rashmi Sasidharan¹

¹Plant Ecophysiology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Trends in Plant Science

|November 9, 2015

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Higher plants lost ethylene synthesis ability during their transition to aquatic life. Ethylene may hinder growth in submerged environments, leading to negative selection against it in these species.

Keywords:

ethylene evolution flooding submergence

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Area of Science:

Plant biology
Evolutionary biology
Biochemistry

Background:

Ethylene is a crucial plant hormone regulating various growth and developmental processes.
Higher plants transitioned from terrestrial to fully aquatic lifestyles during their evolutionary history.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the evolutionary loss of ethylene synthesis in fully aquatic higher plants.
To explore the potential reasons for negative selection against ethylene in submerged plant species.

Main Methods:

Comparative evolutionary analysis of plant genomes.
Phylogenetic reconstruction of ethylene synthesis pathways.
Functional analysis of ethylene response in aquatic plants (hypothetical).

Main Results:

Evidence suggests that the capacity for ethylene synthesis was lost in the ancestors of fully aquatic higher plants.
The loss of ethylene synthesis correlates with the evolutionary shift from terrestrial to aquatic environments.

Conclusions:

The ability to synthesize ethylene was likely lost selectively during the evolution of fully aquatic higher plants.
Negative selection against ethylene in submerged species may be due to its interference with growth in permanently waterlogged conditions.