CONTROL OF GROWTH AND RESPONSES IN - Elongation of cells of upper surface of

PLANTS root (positive)

PLANT RESPONSES
Tropism (Gr. Tropos, turning)
 Plant growth toward or away from a
unidirectional stimulus
o Positive tropism – towards
o Negative tropism – away
 Phototropism – light
 Gravitropism – gravity
 Thigmotropism – touch
• Stop light from green to red
Stimulus
THIGMOTROPISM (Gk. Thigma, touch and tropos,
turning)
- Results to unequal growth due to
contact with solid objects
- Stem in contact with solid objects tends
to grow less and the not touching grow
more
Thigmomorphogenesis – occurs when the entire
plant responds to the presence of environmental
stimuli such as wind or rain

• travel to spinal cord to brain NASTIC MOVEMENTS

Trans
duction
 Do not involve growth
• Brain Interprets  Not dependent on the direction of
stimulus
Response • stops/hit the breaks

1. Seismonastic movements
 Touch
 Shaking, or
 Thermal stimulation

Stimulus  loss of turgor pressure and loss of

potassium (K+) ions and water
PHOTOTROPISM
Mechanosensor hairs – trigger hair with its hinge
Auxin – causes the bending of the plant that transmits a signal to the pulvini to swell quickly
- Moves to shaded portion that causes the and snap the trap shut
elongation of cells 2. Sleep movements
- Unequal distribution of auxin  Occur daily in response to light and
dark changes
 Motor cells in pulvinus
GRAVITROPISM  Prayer plant
Auxin – elongation of cells of lower surface of the  Mimosa, Samanea (akasya)
stem (negative)
Circadian Rhythms (L. circum, about and dies, day)
- Biological rhythms with a 24-hour cycle
- Tend to be persistent
- Rhythm is maintained by a biological
clock set by a photoperiod
o Sleep movements
o Change of BP and temperature
in animals
o Opening and closing of stomates
and flowers
o Secretion of nectar
SUMMARY
 Tropisms are growth responses toward
or away from unidirectional stimuli such
as light, gravity, or physical contact
 Plants may also produce non-directional
nastic movements in response to
stimula as touch and light
PLANT HORMONES (Phytohormones)
- Almost all communication in a plant id
done by hormones (Gk. Hormao,
instigate)
1. Auxins (Gk. Auximos, promoting growth)
 Natural:Infoleacetic acid (IAA)
 Synthetic: Indolebutyric Acid (IBA)
 Sources: Shoot and apical meristem,
young leaves and in flowers, fruits,
and seeds
 Found in tip
Effects of Auxin
a. Apical dominance
Auxin – apical
Cytokinin – lateral
b. Enhances root initiation
o Auxin from buds promotes root
development
o Weak solution of auxin applied to
woody cutting causes rapid
growth of adventitious roots
c. Auxin synthesized by seed promotes
fruit growth
i. Synthetic auxins  seedless
fruits
d. Syngergistic to cytokinin
o Promotes food growth
o Tissue culture – fastest way of
growing plants
e. Involved in gravitropism and
phototropism
2. Cytokinins (Gk. Kytos, cell, and kineo,
move)
 Natural: Zeatic
 Synthetic: Kinetin, Benzyl adenine
(BAP)
 Sources: actively dividing tissues of
roots, seeds and fruits
 Effects: promote cell division
 First experiment is coconut water
Effects of cytokinin
a. Enhances shoot initiation and
development
b. Prevents senescence
i. Prolongs life of flower cutting
and vegetables in storage
ii. Initiates growth of lateral
buds even when apical
dominance is presence
c. Lateral growth
3. Gibbberellins (L. gibbus, bent)
 Gibberellic acid (GA3)
 1026: Ewiti Kurosawa
 “foolish seedling disease in rice”
 Gibberella fujikuroi
 Sources: young leaves, roots, embryos,
seeds, and fruits
 Effects: growth promoting hormone
 First discovered in fungus
 Effects of Gibberellins
a. Stem elongation
b. Breaking of dormancy of buds
i. Induce growth of plants and
increase the size of flowers
ii. Produce larger seedless
grapes
iii. Improve rice production
iv. Onset of flowering in many
plants
4. Abscisic Acid (ABA)
 Does not function naturally in
abscission (L. abscissus, cut off)
 Sources:
o Any “green tissue” with
chloroplasts
o Monocot endosperm and
roots
 Functions:
o “Stress hormone”
o Initiates and maintains seed
and bud dormancy
o Closure of stomata
 Loss of potassium
and turgor pressure
and water
5. Ethylene
 Sources:
o Naturally occurs in plants
(e.g. is produced from
essentially all parts of higher
plants, including leaves,
stems, roots, flowers, fruits,
tubers, and seed)
o Accumulate in mature fruits
to induce ripening
o Made in senescing lead
promotes abscission
o Can also be induced by
mechanical wounding,
environmental stresses, and
certain chemicals including
auxin
o Exhaust from internal
combustion, engines/heaters,
smoke (inc. cigars), welding,
rotting vegetation, natural
gas leaks, and manufacturing
plants of some kinds
 Functions: “aging hormone”
Effects
a. Induces seed germination
b. Promotes ripening of fruits
i. Breaking down of pigments
ii. Oils turn  sugar
c. Stimulates epinasty
i. Folding/bending of stems
ii. Flooded plant
d. Stunted growth and reduced
flowering
e. Involved in senescence
i. Rapid flower aging and
wilting
ii. Flower bud abortion
iii. Leaf yellowing or chlorosis
iv. Leaf necrosis
f. Involved in abscission
i. Dropping
PHOTOPERIODISM (Gk. Photos, light and
periodus, completed course)
 Any physiological response prompted by
changes in day or night length
o Short-day plants
o Long-day plants
o Intermediate-day plants
o Day-neutral plants
 a. Short-day plants or long-night plants
i. Chrysanthemum
ii. Poinsettia
iii. Strawberry
iv. Kataka-taka
b. Long-day plants or short-night plants
i. Spinach
ii. Black-eyed susan
iii. Clover
iv. Carnation
v. Lettuce
vi. Cabbage
vii. Radish
viii. Wheat
c. Intermediate-day plants
i. Do not flower when the day
length is either too long or
too short
ii. Sugarcane
iii. Coleus or mayana
d. Day-neutral plants
i. Flowering is not affected by
lengths of day and night
ii. Tomatoes, cucumbers, string
beans, corn, roses, beans,
sunflowers, rice
iii. Mostly tropical in origin
PHYTOCHROME
- A blue-green leaf pigment that
alternately exists in two forms
o Phytochrome red (Pr) – absorbs
in day
o Phytochrome (Pfr) – absorbs in
night
- Conversion of forms allows a plant to
detect photoperiod changes
- Also promotes seed germination and
inhibits stem elongation