Phototropism and Plant Hormones

AP Biology
Unit 5
 Tropisms
• Tropism = how a plant responds to a
particular stimulus (light, gravity, touch,
etc.)
• Phototropism = growth in response to light
• Gravitropism = growth in response to
gravity
• Thigmotropism = response to touch

Slide 2 of 13
 Auxin
• The plant hormone auxin (also known as
indoleacetic acid) plays a large role in many
tropisms

CH2COOH
N

Slide 3 of 13
 Phototropism
• How a plant grows in
response to light
– When light is placed on one
side of a plant, it will bend
towards the light as it grows

Slide 4 of 13
 Phototropism
More growth

• Why is the plant

Less growth

bending?
– At a cellular level, it
means that cells on one
side of the plant are
growing faster than the
other.
– Cells on the shaded
side are growing faster
than the lit side

Slide 5 of 13
 Phototropism Experiments
• Several scientists
performed experiments
to study the cause of
phototropism
– Darwin & Darwin:
showed the plant only
exhibited phototropism
when the tip was
exposed  the area that
senses light is in the tip
region

Slide 6 of 13
 Phototropism Experiments
• Boysen & Jensen
– Separated the tip from the
rest of the plant and put
mica or gelatin under it
– Mica is impermeable to
substances, gelatin is not
– The tip with gelatin still
caused the plant to bend
 signal (chemical) is
being passed down the
plant from the tip

Slide 7 of 13
 Phototropism Experiments
• Went
– Removed tips and placed
them on agar blocks to
transfer chemical to agar
– When agar block is
placed on one side of the
cut tip, the plant grew
curving away from the
side the agar was on 
hormone has diffused
from tips into blocks that
affected growth
Slide 8 of 13
 Auxin and Phototropism
• Later studies determined that
the chemical at work was
auxin
• When light is shone on one
side, it causes auxin to move
AWAY from the light to the
shadier side
• Since the concentration of
auxin is higher on the shadier
side, it grows more on that Note: some recent experiments
side–plant bends towards the indicate other molecules might
also contribute to phototropism
light
Slide 9 of 13 Image taken without permission from http://bcs.whfreeman.com/thelifewire/default.asp
 Plant Hormones
• Many other plant hormones have also since
been identified
• Move throughout the plant
• Control plant growth and development by
affecting
– Cell division, elongation, or differentiation
– Enzyme activity
– Gene expression
– Properties of membranes
Slide 10 of 13
 Summary of Plant Hormones
• Auxin
– Growth, apical dominance
(one main shoot),
phototropism &
gravitropism
• Gibberellins
– Growth (shoot elongation)
• Cytokinins
– Growth (cell division),
promotes lateral buds
Slide 11 of 13
 Summary of Plant Hormones
• Ethylene
– Fruit Ripening, leaves falling off
• Abscissic Acid
– Stress hormone, inhibits growth, induced seed
dormancy, close stomata

Slide 12 of 13
Slide 13 of 13