Differential Expression of 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-Carboxylate Synthase Genes during Orchid Flower Senescence Induced by the Protein Phosphatase Inhibitor Okadaic Acid

Applying 10 pmol of okadaic acid (OA), a specific inhibitor of type 1 or type 2A serine/threonine protein phosphatases, to the orchid (Phalaenopsis species) stigma induced a dramatic increase in ethylene production and an accelerated senescence of the whole flower. Aminoethoxyvinylglycine or silver thiosulfate, inhibitors of ethylene biosynthesis or action, respectively, effectively inhibited the OA-induced ethylene production and retarded flower senescence, suggesting that the protein phosphatase inhibitor induced orchid flower senescence through an ethylene-mediated signaling pathway. OA treatment induced a differential expression pattern for the 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase multigene family. Accumulation of Phal-ACS1 transcript in the stigma, labelum, and ovary induced by OA were higher than those induced by pollination as determined by "semiquantitative" reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. In contrast, the transcript levels of Phal-ACS2 and Phal-ACS3 induced by OA were much lower than those induced by pollination. Staurosporine, a protein kinase inhibitor, on the other hand, inhibited the OA-induced Phal-ACS1 expression in the stigma and delayed flower senescence. Our results suggest that a hyper-phosphorylation status of an unidentified protein(s) is involved in up-regulating the expression of Phal-ACS1 gene resulting in increased ethylene production and accelerated the senescence process of orchid flower.