Why is senescence important for plants?
In some cases it is the whole plant that senesces, usually after flowering, in a highly coordinated manner. In other species single organs, for example leaves, senesce in an ordered fashion, often when mutual shading results in lowered photosynthetic effort. In both cases considerable translocation of metabolites occurs from the senescing organ to other developing tissues; in the former example to the developing seeds or fruits and in the latter to other, younger, leaves. Senescence is an active process controlled by novel gene expression. Increasing our understanding of the triggers that cause the plant or organ to senesce and the genes that control the processes of cellular breakdown and the re-translocation of nutrients has extensive environmental and commercial implications. What are the benefits of senescence research? By studying the control of the degradative processes that occur during senescence it will be possible to: Identify genes that encode products that accelerate or del
