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Articles

Interactions of Microtubule Disorganizers, Plant Hormones, and Red Light in Wheat Coleoptile Segment Growth ¹

^a Department of Biology, George Washington University, Washington, D. C. 20006

Growth response of coleoptile segments excised from 3-day-old seedlings of wheat (Triticum vulgare cv. Baart) to gibberellic acid, indoleacetic acid, and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, to red light, and to several microtubule disorganizers depends on the initial position of the excised segment in the intact coleoptile. Red light, 660 nm, stimulates the growth of the apical cells, but inhibits markedly the growth of the cells in the basal region of the coleoptile. The effects of red light are independent of sucrose, gibberellic acid, indoleacetic acid, and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, even though these substances themselves markedly affect the growth of the coleoptile segments. Concentractions of the microtubule disorganizers, vinblastine sulfate, cupric chloride, urea, and colchicine, which do not alter significantly the growth of the dark control apical segments, substantially repress the promotive effects of red light or auxin on the increase in length of the apical cells of the coleoptile. This suggests that stimulation by red light and by auxin involves microtubule production. Microtubule disorganizers repress the growth of elongating cells of the coleoptile, yet on the other hand, auxin and irradiation do not alter significantly the response of basal cells to the microtubule disorganizing agents. We hypothesized that light and growth regulators induce polymerization of nonaggregated microtubule subunits, resulting in faster growth.

¹ This work was supported by a Smithsonian Predoctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution (SI-1672) and a United States Drug Administration Grant 416-15-56.