PLANT HORMONES

Growth and Development

 Growth: irreversible increase in size (net
increase in protoplasm) brought about by
increases in cell size and number.
 Development: which includes…
 Morphogenesis: creation of pattern and shape
resulting in morphological and anatomical
development.
 Differentiation: physiological and biochemical
specializations.
All these stages of growth
are under strict
control and coordination,
either directly or indirectly,
by plant hormones.
 Definition of a Plant Hormone
1. Naturally occurring organic
substance.

2. Affects plant growth and

development.

3. Operates in very low

concentrations.

4. Actions may involve sites far

removed from hormone origin.
Basic functions of plant hormones
 Coordinate complex steps in growth and
development.
 Play key roles in signal transduction.
 Integrate many different plant parts.
 Coordinate “timing” of growth and
development.
 Very potent at low concentrations.
 Plant hormones
There are 5 common groups of hormones:

1. AUXINS

2. GIBBERELLINS

3. CYTOKININS

4. ETHYLENE

5. ABSCISIC ACID
Auxin
Auxin associated with phototropism - early experiments
demonstrate tip as receptor.
Demonstration of transported chemical
 Auxins [indoleacetic acid (IAA)]
 first plant hormone to be discovered.
 early on it was believed to be the “master”
plant hormone.
 studies date back to the time of Charles
Darwin (1880s).
 very simple chemical structure….dramatic
influences on growth.
 “growth promoting hormone”
 Functions of Auxins
 Elongation of stems and roots.
 Responsible for tropisms….phototropisms.
 Enlargement of fruits and tubers.
 Promotion of cell divisions in cambium
tissues.
 Vascular cambium…auxin signal in Spring
from buds.
 Secondary xylem initiation.
Growth movement
Phototropism
Geotropism
 Functions of Auxins
 Wound healing.
 Promotes pith and cortex cells to differentiate into
sclerenchymatous xylem to cover wounds.
 Promotes rooting of plant cuttings.
 Promotes rooting of soft wood cuttings.
 Inhibits growth in areas other than root
tissues.
 Shorten stems and retards growth.
 Apical dominance…function of auxin distribution.
 Functions of Auxins
 Inhibits abscission of leaves and fruit.
 Prevents leaf and fruit drop.
 Tissues send continuous auxin signal to prevent
abscission layer development.
 Auxin release and movement to zones of
abscission is halted by:
 Disease
 Injury…lighting strikes
 Natural/Seasonal development
Control of abscission by auxin
 Auxins and Leaf Abscission
 In the Fall, leaves fall from the trees because
the leaf tissues STOP producing auxins.
 Same mechanisms in place for fruit drops
(apples).
 Auxins are in highest concentrations in the
stem apex of plants. Such high
concentrations inhibit the growth of axillary
buds….apical dominance.
Apical dominance
 Auxins and Horticulture
Practical applications in agriculture and
horticulture:
Useful in propagating/rooting of plant tissues
cuttings.
As a herbicide.
Prevention of fruit drop.
Thinning of fruits….depending on the
concentration.
Gibberellin
 Gibberellins
 Naturally occurring terpenoid compounds.
 Discovered and researched extensively in Japan.
Information was not released until after WWII.
 More than 50 natural gibberellins now discovered.
 Occur in a wide variety of plants.
 Named after a rice fungal diseases organism …
Gibberella fujikuroi.
 Identified as Gibberellic Acids years later.
 Functions of Gibberellins
 Cell enlargement and cell divisions in sub-apical
meristems.
 Growth in stems, fruits, and leaves.
 Stem and leaf expansion.
 Fruit development and expansion.
 Stimulation of flowering
 Cell divisions in some tissues.
 Dormancy and senescence.
 Seed germination.
 Functions of Gibberellins
 Functions are similar to auxins, but GA has a
much different chemical structure.
 Gibberellins cause cell expansion and cell
divisions in sub-apical meristems.
 Interesting to note:
Gibberellins applied to whole plants will increase or
promote growth and expansion, but auxins applied to
whole plants usually inhibit growth….what results is a
concentration problem.
 GA stimulates flowering
 Some biennial plant species require a cold period to
initiate flowering (onions and carrots). This cold
periods causes a natural production of GA inside
the plants.
 In seasons with uncommonly cold weather,
premature flowering or bolting can occur. Usually
at the consequence of the desired tissues…onion
bulb or carrot root.
 Bolting = rosetted plants produce a flower stalk and
seeds and then die before the end of the season.
 GA stimulates flowering
 But, if you desire flowering…such as in plant
breeding efforts…applications of GA will
cause flowering to occur without a cold-
temperature period.
 Used as a techniques to get biennial plants to
flower in less than 1 year.
 Very helpful for plant breeding programs.
 GA and Seed Germination
 Gibberellins also stimulate seed germination.
 GA triggers the enzymatic metabolism of
stored reserves for the developing embryo in
the seed tissues.
 This leads to seed germination events.
 GA and horticulture
 During germination there is a conversion from the
storage starches to simple sugars for use in
seedling development. The “malting” of barley
seeds in beverage production is the process of
using GA to induce enzymes in seed
germination….cause conversion of starches to
sugars. Germination is then stopped by heating
and the sugars are fermented.
 GA used to induce seedlessness in grapes.
Seedless plants are often small is size. GA is also
used to increase fruit size in seedless grapes.
Cytokinins
 Cytokinins
promote cell division….cytokinesis.
Discovered in the 1950s during the
“golden age” of tissue culture of plants.
Most are purines…refers to organic
chemical structure.
Kinetin as an example.
 Functions of Cytokinins
Close relationship w/ auxins in plants.
Promotes mitosis…cell divisions.
Cell expansion of leaves, stems, roots.
Formation of bud tissues.
Involved in light responses.
Regulate protein synthesis.
 Cytokinins and Auxins
 Concentration of cytokinins relative to auxins
are very important
 In tissue culture…auxin : cytokinin ratios
affect growth of tissues.
  auxin :  cytokinins = Increased ROOT
growth.
  auxin :  cytokinins = Increased SHOOT
growth.
 Cytokinins can also control branching in some
species….
 Cytokinins promote lateral buds.
 Auxins suppress lateral buds (apical dominance).
 Ethylene

H H
\ /
C = C
/ \
H H
 Ethylene
Exists as a gas.
The action of ethylene was always
considered a mystery.
Caused such things as sprouting, fruit
ripening, leaf abscission, and flowering.
 Ethylene
Only recognized as a plant hormone as
late a 1960s.
Ethylene is a gas with a simple chemical
structure…
Very potent and important regulator of
plant growth!
 Functions of Ethylene
 Fruit ripening….bananas for example.
 Seed germination.
 Petal and leaf abscission.
 Wound healing.
 Influences cell divisions and growth.
 Floral initiation in some plants.
In the grocery store…

What do you think ethylene does?

 Functions of Ethylene
Ethylene will speed up maturation of
fruit tissues….plants will naturally
produce ethylene in fruit tissues as they
ripen.
Apples for example release natural
ethylene as they ripen.
 Functions of Ethylene
Natural, or endogenous, ethylene
produced by plants will cause:
Abnormal development in etiolated
(grown in the dark…no pigments) seedling.
Speed up fruit and leaf abscission.
Floral initiation in some plant species…
uniform flowering in pineapple.
Speed up fruit maturation/ripening.
 Ethylene production is regulated by
internal signals during development
and by various biotic and abiotic
stresses, such as pathogen invasion,
flooding, freezing, and drought.

Isolation of mutants in the plant

Arabidopsis thaliana affecting ethylene
responses has led to the identification
of ethylene receptors and several
downstream components in the
ethylene signal transduction pathway.

The integral membrane protein ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE2 (EIN2), which

is supposed to act between the soluble serine/threonine kinase CTR1 and the
EIN3/EIL family of transcription factors, is a central and most critical
element of this pathway.
http://www.biologie.uni-duesseldorf.de/Institute/Biochemische_Pflanzenphysiologie/Forschung/SFB590
 Ethylene and horticulture
Horticulturally, ethylene is applied as a
gas in enclosed chambers to increase
fruit ripening.
Liquid chemicals that transform into
ethylene in plants have been developed
and are used in a broad range of
applications…
 Ethylene and horticulture
Ethephon…(2-chloroethyl)phosphonic
acid)
Used for uniform ripening of pineapple
and tomato.
Change in sex expression in cucumbers.
Initiates pistilate flowers in mostly
staminate plants.
Abscisic acid
 Abscisic Acid (ABA)
 Natural inhibitory compound.
 Affects bud and seed dormancy.
 Affects leaf abscission.
 Controls stomatal closure in drought-
stressed plants.
 Promotion of flowering in short-day
plants….plants that flower when the day-
length is shorter than some critical period.
 May also influence cold-hardiness.
 Functions of ABA
 Additions if ABA, or natural production in
plants will:
 Promote seed dormancy.
 Promote bud dormancy.
 Accelerate leaf abscission.
 The dormancy response caused by ABA in
plants may result from suppression of RNA
and protein synthesis.