Abstract:The symptoms of petal response to ethylene, including petal in-rolling and increase in ion leakage through cell membrane, were completely inhibited by treatment of transcription inhibitor a-amanitin as well as protein synthesis inhibitor---cycloheximide. It was observed in Dianthus caryophyllus L. cv. White Sim that protein synthesis in flowers declined and the responsiveness to ethylene increased as the flowers became matured. However, when the flowers were pre-treated with aminooxyacetic acid (AOA), an inhibitor of ethylene synthesis, the observed responsiveness to ethylene in flowers declined with age. These results suggested that responsiveness to ethylene in flowers may be due to a declination in the capacity of protein synthesis in flowers.