Ethylene Emissions in Plants in Response to Salt Stress

by: Kristen Odegaard

Pachysandra terminalis and Hedera helix Baltica plants were treated with 30 mmol/L of NaCl or 60 mmol/L of NaCl. The amount of ethylene the plants produced and released was tested and compared to ethylene emissions from plants that did not receive any salt treatments. Gas chromatographic measurement of head space gas from air-tight plastic bags covering the plants was a method that could test for the presence of ethylene and also allowed for the quantification of the amount of ethylene produced by each plant. The amount of ethylene produced by the control plants was higher than the amount of ethylene produced in the 30mmol/L and 60 mmol/L plants, which was not expected. In most plants, the amount of ethylene produced in the plants treated with 30 mmol/L was higher than the amount produced in plants that received 60 mmol/L NaCl, which also was not expected.

Research Advisor: Beverly J. Brown, Ph.D., Nazareth College