The conductor choosing the score: how the LsMAX1 gene controls lettuce aging
Cut lettuce in the fridge turns yellow within a few days. The leaf isn't simply dying: it switches on a program that breaks down chlorophyll and sends nutrients to other parts of the plant. The conductor of this program is the LsMAX1 gene, which makes the plant produce strigolactone hormones.
Strigolactones are plant hormones named after the parasite Striga.