the root and shoot elongation and gradually

BIOLOGY – AUXXIN & PHOTOTROPISM kills the whole plant

WHAT IS AUXIN PLANT NUTRITION?
AUXIN (Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA)) – are a group of
- Plant Growth Regulators. AUXIN is a greek word
naturally occulting and artificially synthesized plant
that means “to increase.” It is a genetic term
hormones. They play an important role in the
for chemicals that typically stimulate cell
regulation of plant growth.
elongation but auxins also influence a wide
- Initially isolated from human urine
range of growth and development response.
- Auxin means to “enlarge” or “increase”
The chemical isolations and characterization
- They induce cell division, differentiation, and
was done by KOGI, et al.
elongation
 PHOTOTROPISM – is the growth of an
MAIN FUNCTIONS OF AUXIIN
organism in response to a light stimulus. It is
1. CELL ELONGATION: promotes elongation in
most often observed in plants, but can also
shoots and coleoptiles
occur in other organisms such as fungi.
2. CELL DIVISION AND DIFFERENTIATION:
- “PHOTO” means light, and “TROPISM”
promotes healing
means turning. Phototropism is the
3. CALLUS FORMATION AND MORPHOGENESIS:
phenomenon by which the bending in the
induce callus formation and stimulates
direction of the light.
morphogenesis
- CHARLES DARWIN detected phototropism
4. SECONDARY GROWTH: promotes secondary
movement (bending of plants towards
growth and induces cell division
light) in the coleoptile of canary grass. He
5. ROOT INITIATION ON CUTTING: NAA is used
observed that there was some influencer at
to initiate root formation in the stem cuttings.
the top of the coleoptile, which was
6. APICAL DOMINANCE: this is used to promote
responsible for the bending towards the
branching
light.
7. PARTHENOCARPY: ovary enlarges and
 WHEN DOES PHOTOTROPISM OCCUR?
develops into seedless fruit (unfertilized).
- It occurs as the photoreceptors of a plant
8. FRUIT DEVELOPMENT: produced by seeds and
detect that a light source could be better
it stimulates fruit development.
accessed by the bending plant.
9. FLOWERING: delays the senescence of
- A chemical called AUXIN concentrates on
flowers
the shady side of the plant, causing the
10. HERBICIDES: synthetic auxins are widely used
plant cells to elongate which changes the
to kill weeds
direction of the plant’s growth.
11. PROMOTES TROPISM: auxin induces
 WHY DOES PHOTOTROPISM OCCUR AND
phototropism, gravitopism and thigmotropism
WHAT LIGHT CAUSES PHOTOTROPISM?
(I.e. movement in response to light, gravity
- The phototropic response occurs because
and touch, respectively).
greater quantities of auxin are distributed
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE PLANT WHEN IT’S
to the side away from the light than to
LACKING AUXIN?
the side towards it, causing the shaded
- The plant loses its root meristematic activity and
side to elongate more strongly which
the root degenerates since promotes the
changes the direction of the plant’s
growth and development of plants at low
growth
concentrations (0.01-10.0mg/L) and regulates
- When phototropins are activated by blue
numerous developmental processes in plants
light, the hormone auxin accumulates on
including cell expansion, root initiation,
the shaded side of the plant triggering
vascular tissue differentiation, bud and flower
elongation of stem cells and
growth.
phototropism.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE PLANT IF THE AUXIN
 EXAMPLES OF PHOTOTROPISM
IS TOO MUCH?
1. POSITIVE PHOTOTROPISM – it is the
- Its overproduction causes toxicity which kills the
curving of the stem toward sunlight, or
plants. The large concentration of auxin
the growth towards a light source.
stimulates the ethylene. This ethylene inhibits
2. NEGATIVE PHOTOTROPISM – movement
of root away from the light inside the
soil, or growth away from light.