The plant hormone ethylene is an endogenous regulator of growth and development in higher plants. This gaseous compound influences a diverse and complex range of responses during many phases of plant development and in most parts of the plant. Responses mediated by ethylene include breaking of seed dormancy, seedling growth, flower initiation, leaf abscission, senescence and fruit ripening. Ethylene biosynthesis is induced by environmental stresses such as oxygen deficiency, wounding, pathogen invasion and flooding. These stresses may result in ethylene-mediated acceleration of senescence, abscission of infected organs or induction of specific plant defence proteins.
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Chang et al. (1992) studied this question.