Abscisic Acid Role in Plant Branching
April 19, 2017| |
Plant branching is a process regulated by phytohormones produced by the plant, similar to hormones found in animals. Many scientists have believed that auxin, the most intensely studied plant phytohormone, is the most important factor that controls branching. Researchers at Texas A&M University have found that abscisic acid (ABA), more known for its role in regulating water movement in plants, also plays an important role in plant branching.
Branching is controlled by light signals modified by neighboring plants. The stem grows taller if the branches are inhibited. The plant invests in the main shoot rather than in branching, to get to more direct light. The study examined plant mechanisms used to control branching in crowded and uncrowded conditions.
The researchers found that when given light signals that mimic crowded and uncrowded conditions, bud growth is altered very quickly, within six hours, when light signals are changed. They also found that changes in bud growth were more closely related to changes in ABA than auxin. ABA is one of the earliest regulators of branching. Auxin regulates from the stem, but ABA is present in the bud and is probably responding more directly to light signals that it receives.
For more details about this research, read the article at AgriLife Today.
| |
Biotech Updates is a weekly newsletter of ISAAA, a not-for-profit organization. It is distributed for free to over 22,000 subscribers worldwide to inform them about the key developments in biosciences, especially in biotechnology. Your support will help us in our mission to feed the world with knowledge. You can help by donating as little as $10.
-
See more articles:
-
News from Around the World
- Almost Two Billion People in the World Depend on Imported Food
- Herbicide Use Increased More for Non-GM Crops than Biotech Crops, Study
- Farms in Kenya Face Armyworms Attack
- Abscisic Acid Role in Plant Branching
- U.S. EPA Implements Temporary Exemption from the Requirement of a Tolerance for mCry51Aa2
- UC Davis Scientists Report that Plant Genes Have Volume Controls
- Lettuce Genome Assembly Published
- Twitter Survey Shows 71% of Votes Say GMOs Needed to Feed World Population
- Indonesian Farmers to Gain Access to Paddy Seeds Resistant to Hoppers and Bacterial Blights
-
Research Highlights
- ES7 Functions in Nitrogen Metabolism and Chlorophyll Synthesis in Rice
- Traditional Breeding Alters Maize Composition More than Stacking Transgenic Events
-
Beyond Crop Biotech
- Genetic Modification of Escherichia coli for Propionate Production
-
Announcements
- International Food Conference on Global Food Security
-
Plant
- The Use of Viral Vectors for Plant Genome Editing
- Tobacco Enzymes Inactivated via Multiplex CRISPR-Cas9 Strategy
-
Read the latest: - Biotech Updates (October 2, 2024)
- Gene Editing Supplement (September 26, 2024)
- Gene Drive Supplement (February 22, 2023)
-
Subscribe to BU: - Share
- Tweet