Ethylene-regulated gene transcription has been studied in the context
of plant defense, carnation flower petal senescence, and tomato fruit
ripening. This review summarizes what is known about the molecular mec
hanisms of this process. Activation of plant defense genes in response
to ethylene involves a promoter element called the GCC box, which int
eracts with ethylene-responsive element-binding proteins (EREBPs). Gen
es expressed in response to ethylene during petal senescence and fruit
ripening use different promoter elements. For fruit ripening genes, t
wo cooperative promoter elements are required for ethylene-responsive
transcription. DNA-binding proteins of carnation and tomato that inter
act with ethylene-responsive promoter elements have been studied, and
in some cases cDNAs encoding such proteins have been isolated. The imm
ediate goal of this work is to determine which DNA-binding proteins ar
e involved in mediating ethylene-responsive gene transcription, and ho
w they interact with other components of the ethylene signaling pathwa
y. This work will lead to a more complete understanding of ethylene si
gnal transduction.