Explain the role of auxin in phototropism as an example of the control of plant growth

Phototropism is the growing or turning of an organism in response to a

unidirectional light source
Auxins (e.g. IAA) are plant hormones that are produced by the tip of a shoot and
mediate phototropism
Auxin makes cells enlarge or grow and, in the shoot, are eradicated by light
The accumulation of auxin on the shaded side of a plant causes this side only to
lengthen, resulting in the shoot bending towards the light
Auxin causes cell elongation by activating proton pumps that expel H
+
ions from
the cytoplasm to the cell wall
The resultant decrease in pH within the cell wall causes cellulose fibres to loosen
(by breaking the bonds that hold them together)
This makes the cell wall flexible and capable of stretching when water influx
promotes cell turgor
Auxin can also alter gene expression to promote cell growth (via the upregulation
of expansins)

The Role of Auxin in Phototropism


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Plant Growth Regulation and Responses
Tropisms
A tropism is a growth response of a plant to an external stimulus.
A tropism can be positive or negative.
Positive: the growth response is in the direction of the stimulus.
Negative: the growth response is away from the stimulus.
Light intensity, day length, gravity and temperature are major factors that influence plant growth.
Phototropism is the growth response of a plant in response to light direction.
Geotropism is the growth response of a plant in response to gravity.
Thigmotropism is the growth response of a plant to physical contact (touch).
Chemotropism is the growth response of a plant to a particular chemical.
Hydrotropism is the growth response of a plant to water.
Tropisms are adaptive responses; they increase the plants chance of survival and
reproduction.
Significance of Phototropism and Geotropism
Stems
Positive phototropism and negative geotropism of stems.
The stems will grow towards the light and up away from gravity.
This places the leaves in better light with increase in photosynthesis.
More food means better growth and reproduction.
Roots
Negative phototropism and positive geotropism of roots.
The roots grow away from light and down in the gravity of direction.
The roots are more likely to find soil in this direction.
Soil is important for plants for anchorage, water and mineral nutrients.
Plant Growth Regulators
Tropisms are controlled and moderated by special chemicals called growth regulators.
A plant growth regulator is an organic substance that is made in tiny amounts by the plant and
has very definite specific effects on tissue metabolism and growth.
The target tissue of the growth regulator may be the local tissue or tissue in a different part of the
plant.
The growth regulator affects the cell cycle, cell enlargement and cell differentiation.
Natural plant growth regulators that move to their target are called plant hormones.
The transport of plant hormones to distant targets may be by diffusion, in xylem or in phloem.
Five Major Groups of Plant Growth Regulators
Auxins: growth promoters stimulates stem cell elongation, flower and fruit formation.
Gibberellins: growth promoters stimulates stem cell elongation and seed germination.
Cytokinins: growth promoters stimulates cell division and differentiation.
Abscisic Acid: a growth inhibitor causes seed and bud dormancy, represses cell
elongation.
Ethylene: often a growth inhibitor fall of leaves and fruit.
Many growth responses are not cause just by one growth regulator but by a combination of
different regulators and the concentration of each in the mix.
Auxin and gibberellin are together involved in stem cell elongation each affecting a different
part of the process.
Auxin and cytokinin are together involved in the terminal bud suppressing the development of
lateral buds this is termed apical dominance.
Auxin
Production Sites
meristems apical and lateral,
young leaves,
developing fruit and seeds.
Functions
increase the plasticity of plant cell walls for enlargement and shaping.
influences the expression of specific genes involved in growth.
role in stimulating cell division.
Effects
change in growth direction of stem and root,
apical dominance prevent lateral bud growth,
fruit development,
formation of adventitious roots.
Mechanism of a Plant Response
E.g. positive phototropism of a stem to unilateral light.
Auxin is produced in the apical meristem of the stem.
In unilateral light much auxin moves to the shaded side of the stem apex.
Auxin moves away from the stem apex towards the elongation zone.
There will be an unequal distribution of auxin in the elongation zone.
The shaded side will have a higher auxin concentration.
High auxin concentration in stems stimulates cell elongation.
The shaded side cells are stimulated to greater elongation than the cells on the other side.
This unequal growth causes the stem to bend towards the light.
Synthetic Plant Growth Regulators
These are inorganic substances made by physical chemistry that affect plant growth.
Some mimic the natural growth regulators in structure and action.
Many are completely different to natural regulators both in structure and action.
Commercial Use of Plant Regulators
Any two of:
Rooting Power: increase the success of stem cutting by promoting extensive early
rooting.
Cytokinin: use in tissue culture to stimulate cell differentiation.
Ethelene: quick ripening of mature green bananas for the market.
Auxin: as a selective weed killer to reduce competition and so promote crop growth.
Gibberellins: production of seedless fruits e.g. oranges.
(Practical use of abscisic acid has not yet been extensively developed.)

Plant Protection Adaptations
Cuticle: protection against leaf infection by bacteria, fungi and viruses.
Cork: protection against insect pest damage.
Cuticle and Stomata Closure: protection against excessive water loss.
Stinging Dermal Hairs: protection against large herbivores.
Spines and Thorns: protection against large herbivores.
Toxic Substances: protection against insect pests and large herbivores.
Foul Tasting Chemical: discourage large herbivores.
Warning Chemicals: to alert neighbouring to start making protective chemicals.
Heat Shock Proteins: prevent specific proteins from denaturing so they remain functional.
Mandatory Activity
Investigate the Effect of Auxin on Plant Tissue
Germinate 60 pea seeds until plumule is 1.5 cm long.
Remove the tip from each plumule removes the source of auxin.
Cut the plumule to a length of one centimetre.
Organise six sets of 10 decapitated plumules.
Measure and record the total length of each set.
Place one set in sucrose solution without auxin control.
Place the other sets in a sucrose solution of different auxin concentrations.
The concentrations are 100 ppm, 10 ppm, 1 ppm, 0.1 ppm, 0.01 ppm
Sucrose will be a food source for the live plant tissue.
Replace the solutions every day.
After three days measure the total length of each set.
Compare the results to the control.
Graph the results with auxin concentration on the x-axis and change in length on the y-
axis.
Repeat the entire process many times to verify the results.
Preparation of Auxin Solutions
Method: Serial Dilution
Five small10 cm3 screw-top bottles.
Separate syringe for each jar.
10 cm3 of auxin solution at 100 ppm (parts per million) in the first jar.
9 cm3 of distilled water in the other four jars.
Remove 1 cm3 of auxin solution from the first jar with a syringe.
Transfer this1 cm3 of auxin solution to the second jar.
Close both jars with their lid.
Shake the second jar vigorously to thorough mix the distilled water and the auxin
solution.
Repeat the same procedure from second jar into third jar.
Repeat until the fifth and last jar.
After mixing the last jar discard 1 cm3 of its solution.
All jars contain 9 cm3 of auxin solution each successive one is 10 times more dilute.

Phototropism and auxin - Higher
Auxins are plant hormones that make some parts of a plant stem grow faster than others. The
result is that the plant stem bends towards the light.
You may have noticed that a houseplant grows towards the window and turns its leaves towards
the light. It does this because light coming from the window side of the plant destroys the auxin
in that side of the stem. So growth on that side slows down.
On the shaded side of the plant there is more auxin. So growth on this side speeds up. The result
is that the shoots and leaves are turned towards the light for photosynthesis.

Auxin is produced in the tip of growing shoots.
If the tips are removed, they cannot produce auxin, so phototropism cannot occur.
If the tips are covered, light cannot break down the auxin, so phototropism cannot then occur
either.
Tropisms
A tropism is a growth movement whose direction is determined by the direction from which the
stimulus strikes the plant.
Positive = the plant, or a part of it, grows in the direction from which the stimulus
originates.
Negative = growth away from the stimulus.
Plants respond to:
Light = phototropism
o Stems are positively phototropic.
o Roots are negatively phototropic.
Gravity = gravitropism
o Stems are negatively gravitropic while
o roots are positively gravitropic.
The adaptive value of these tropisms is clear.
Roots growing down and/or away from light are more likely to find the soil, water, and
minerals they need.
Stems growing up and toward the light will be able to expose their leaves so that
photosynthesis can occur.
The Mechanism of Phototropism
The Darwin Experiments
Charles Darwin and his son Francis discovered (in 1880)
that the phototropic stimulus is detected at the tip of the
plant.
The Darwins used grass seedlings for some of their
experiments. When grass seeds germinate, the primary leaf
pierces the seed coverings and the soil while protected by
the coleoptile, a hollow, cylindrical sheath that surrounds
it. Once the seedling has grown above the surface, the
coleoptile stops growing and the primary leaf pierces it.
The Darwins found that the tip of the coleoptile was
necessary for phototropism but that the bending takes place in the region below the tip.

If they placed an opaque cover over the tip,
phototropism failed to occur even though the rest of the
coleoptile was illuminated from one side.
However, when they buried the plant in fine black sand
so that only its tip was exposed, there was no
interference with the tropism the buried coleoptile
bent in the direction of the light.
From these experiments, it seemed clear that
the stimulus (light) was detected at one location (the tip)
the response (bending) was carried out at another (the region of elongation).
This implied that the tip was, in some way, communicating with the cells in the region of
elongation.
Boysen-Jensen's Experiments
The Danish plant physiologist Boysen-Jensen showed (in 1913) that the signal was a chemical
passing down from the tip of the coleoptile.
He
cut off the tip of the coleoptile
covered the stump with a layer of gelatin and
replaced the tip.
Phototropism took place normally.
However, when he used a flake of impervious mica
between the tip and the stump, phototropism was
prevented.
Furthermore, this interference occurred only when the
sheet of mica was inserted on the shady side of the
preparation. When a horizontal incision was made on
the illuminated side and the mica inserted in it,
phototropism was normal.
This suggested that the chemical signal was a growth stimulant as the phototropic response
involves faster cell elongation on the shady side than on the illuminated side.
The Discovery of Auxin
F. W. Went extracted the growth stimulant.
He removed the tips of several coleoptiles of oat, Avena
sativa, seedlings. He placed these on a block of agar for
several hours. At the end of this time, the agar block itself
was able to initiate resumption of growth of the decapitated
coleoptile. The growth was vertical because the agar block
was placed completely across the stump of the coleoptile
and no light reached the plant from the side.
The unknown substance that had diffused from the agar block was named auxin.
Link to discussion of other plant responses mediated by auxin.
The amount of auxin in coleoptile tips was far too small to be purified and analyzed chemically.
Therefore, a search was made for other sources of auxin activity.
The Avena Test - a Bioassay
This search was aided by a technique developed by Went
for determining the relative amount of auxin activity in a
preparation.
The material to be assayed is incorporated into an agar block, and the block is placed on one
edge of a decapitated Avena coleoptile.
As the auxin diffuses into that side of the coleoptile, it stimulates cell elongation and the
coleoptile bends away from the block.
The degree of curvature, measured after 1.5 hours in the dark, is proportional to the amount of
auxin activity (e.g., number of coleoptile tips used).

Here is a photographic record of an Avena test. (Courtesy of Dr. Kenneth V. Thimann.)

The use of living tissue to determine the amount of a substance is called a bioassay.
The Avena test soon revealed that substances with auxin activity occur widely in nature. One of
the most potent was first isolated from human urine. It was indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and
turned out to be the auxin actually used by plants.

Went also discovered that it is the unequal distribution of auxin
that causes the bending in phototropism. When a coleoptile tip that
has previously been illuminated from one side is placed on two
separated agar blocks, the block on the side that had been shaded
accumulates almost twice as much auxin as the block on the
previously lighted side. Hence the more rapid cell elongation on the shady side of the plant.
Gravitropism of Shoots
Gravitropism also involves the unequal distribution of auxin.
When an oat coleoptile tip is placed on two separated agar
blocks, as shown here, there is no difference in the auxin activity
picked up by the two blocks. When the preparation is placed on
its side, however, the lower block accumulates twice as much
auxin activity as the upper block. Under natural conditions, this
would cause greater cell elongation on the underside of the
coleoptile and the plant would bend upward.
Shoots versus Roots
Unequal distribution of auxin is also the key to the
negative phototropism and
positive gravitropism
of roots.
The graph (based on the work of K. V. Thimann) shows the
effect of auxin concentration on root and stem growth. The
difference between the behavior of roots and stems lies in
the difference in the sensitivity of their cells to auxin. Auxin
concentrations high enough to stimulate stem growth inhibit
root growth.
Possible Mechanism of Gravitropism in Roots
When a root is placed on its side,
Statoliths (organelles containing starch grains) settle
by gravity to the bottom of cells in the root tip.
This causes PIN proteins to redistribute to the underside of the cell where they pump
auxin out of the cell.
The auxin then accumulates along the under side of the root.
This INHIBITS root cell elongation (see graph).
So the cells at the top surface of the root elongate, causing the root to grow down.
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