Methods to study darkness-induced leaf senescence

Abstract

Leaf senescence is an intergral part of plant development, involving actively regulated molecular and biochemical processes, e.g. diverse transcriptome reprogramming, macromolecules degradation and nutrient remobilization. Natural and environment-induced leaf senescence directly affects crop yield and the shelf life of green vegetables. Darkness is considered as an inducer of leaf senescence and has been well used in laboratory setting. Here we described the setup of darkness-induced senescence in both detached and attached leaves and the methods to measure senescence-related parameters.