Hormone Treatments in Studying Leaf Senescence

As the last stage of plant development, senescence can be regulated by a large number of signals such as aging, reproductive growth, nutrient availability, and stresses. Various plant hormones have been shown to be involved in regulating plant senescence. For example, ethylene, abscisic acid (ABA), jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid (SA), and strigolactones (SLs) promote senescence, whereas cytokinins (CKs) inhibit senescence. Different hormones regulate senescence via distinct pathways, while cross talks between signaling pathways exist. In senescence-related studies, treating plants with various hormones to alter senescence is a common practice. In this chapter, we summarize experimental procedures of treating detached Arabidopsis leaves with a number of senescence-regulating hormones including ABA, SLs, MeJA, SA peptide hormones.