The phytohormone jasmonate (JA) plays important roles in regulating plant stress responses and developmental processes, which include senescence. The mechanism of JA-mediated plant senescence has been mainly studied in detached leaves using dark/starvation-promoted systems, however, its role in whole-plant senescence remains largely unclear. Wang et al. (pp. 45–56) now show that methyl jasmonate (MeJA) induces tobacco whole-plant senescence under light conditions in a manner different to that which occurs in detached leaves under dark/starvation conditions. Further, they show that the JA-signal perception protein COI1 (CORONATINE INSENSITIVE1) is required for MeJA-induced senescence, and that MeJA-induced senescence of tobacco whole-plants is reversible.