Research Shows Teamwork Between Two Hormones Key to Plant Growth

A research group at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), supported by scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum Munich and the TU Braunschweig has discovered that two growth-promoting phytohormones, the gibberellins and the brassinosteroids, act together to promote plant growth.

The research team used plants with mutations, which they discovered to produce less gibberellin. As a result, the plants' germination was impaired, their growth inhibited, and their flowering delayed. Without the brassinosteroids, the plants were unable to produce gibberellins, a mechanism that is highly relevant to plant growth and development. The scientists showed that transcription factors are responsible for this mechanism. Once activated by brassinosteroids, they initiate the production of gibberellin.

Prof. Dr. Brigitte Poppenberger from TUM and head of the research group, said "These findings are an important step toward improving our understanding of how plant steroids work – and harnessing their potential for the breeding and production of crop plants."

For more information, read the news article at the TUM website.