INVESTIGATION OF PROTEINS IN PETALS OF POTTED CHRYSANTHEMUM AS A POTENTIAL INDICATOR OF LONGEVITY

The SDS-PAGE protein profiles of four potted chrysanthemum cultivars ( Dendrantrema grandiflora Tzvelev.) with flower longevities of 17-25 da ys were determined from flowering to senescence. The chrysanthemum flo wer is non-climacteric and therefore ethylene does not appear to play a role in flower senescence, during which only minor changes in both t he protein content and the proportion of the major polypeptides were o bserved. This apparent stability of the proteins may contribute to the long post-harvest life of chrysanthemum flowers. Of the major polypep tides only a few increased in proportion from flowering to senescence. A 40 kDa polypeptide increased from flowering to senescence in two sh ort-lived cultivars 'Yellow Tara' and 'Orinda' and in the long-lived c ultivar 'Dana'. Polypeptides at 45 and 65 kDa increased in two long-li ved cultivars 'Eureka' and 'Dana', and the 65 kDa polypeptide also inc reased in the short-lived 'Orinda' cultivar. The increase in these pol ypeptides during flower senescence is of particular interest because t hey may be linked to flower longevity.