12961 10.30848/PJB2026-5(4) <h6> <span style="font-size:10px;">Ethylene regulates trichome initiation in <em>Arabidopsis</em></span></h6> Yuxiang Yi, Minxuan Zhu, Yinbo Gan, Yihua Liu and Xue Cao <p> Plant trichome is the first protective barrier of plants, which is regulated by various genes and plant hormones. Ethylene is closely related to plant growth and development, but the specific mechanism of its regulation on plant trichomes is still unclear. In this study, <em>Arabidopsis</em> ethylene-signaling defective mutants (<em>ein2-1</em>, <em>etr1-3</em>) and wild type (WT) were used to investigate the initiation of plant trichomes via the ethylene signaling pathway. It was found that the trichome number of <em>ein2-1</em> and <em>etr1-3</em> was significantly less than that of WT on the sepal, stem and rosette leaf of main stem inflorescence. Ethylene synthesis precursor (ACC) solution treatment could promote trichome formation on the main stem inflorescence, main stem and rosette leaves in <em>Arabidopsis</em>. Through expression analysis of ACC-treated WT, it was found that ethylene induces the expression of key trichome genes in <em>Arabidopsis</em>. At the same time, the expression of key trichome-key genes of the <em>ein2-1</em> and <em>etr1-3</em> was significantly different from that of the WT. In summary, this study demonstrated that ethylene regulates the trichome initiation by regulating the expression of key trichome genes in <em>Arabidopsis</em>. This study offers a significant theory for enhancing the network of plant hormones that regulate trichome initiation.</p> Published 2026 58 5 1071 1077