PLANT RESPONSES TO INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL SIGNALS

1. CHAPTER 39 PLANT RESPONSES TO INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL SIGNALS

2. Plants respond to a wide array of stimuli throughout its lifecycle Hormonal signals Gravity Direction of light Plant interactions between environmental stimuli and internal signals. Responses to Stimuli

3. Animals and Plants differ in how they respond to stimuli Animals mobility behavioral Plants environmental cues Patterns of growth & development Responses to Stimuli

4. The ability to receive specific environmental and internal signals and respond to them in ways that enhance survival and reproductive success. Cellular receptors detect environmental changes Hormonal changes Injury repair Seasonal changes Responses to Stimuli

5. Plant growth patterns vary dramatically in the presence versus the absence of light. Potato grown in dark Potato grown in light Signal-transduction pathways link internal and environmental signals to cellular responses.

6. Morphological adaptations in seedling growth The shoot does not need a thick stem. Leaves would be damaged as the shoot pushes upward. Don’t need an extensive root system No chlorophyll produced Energy allocated to stem growth

7. The effect of sunlight on shoots (greening): The elongation rate of the stems slow. The leaves expand and the roots start to elongate. The entire shoot begins to produce chlorophyll.

8. Signal transduced pathways: greening response. • Three stages: • Reception • Signal transduction • Response

9. Reception for Greening: The receptor is called a phytochrome: a light-absorbing pigment attached to a specific protein. Located in the cytoplasm. Sensitive to very weak environmental and chemical signals Signal is then amplified by a second messenger

10. Transduction: Second messenger produced by the interaction between phytochrome and G-protein G-protein activates enzyme with produces Cyclic GMP (2nd messenger) Ca2+-calmodulin is also a 2nd messenger

11. Response Cyclic GMP and Ca2+-calmodulin pathways lead to gene expression for protein that activates greening response Response ends when “switch-off” is activated (protein phosphatases)

12. Signal Transduction in Plants: Greening

13. Hormones- are chemical signals that travel to target organs Only small amts are needed Often the response of a plant is governed by the interaction of two or more hormones. Phototropism and Negative phototropism Hormone

14. Early Experiments of Phototropism

15. Went Experiment (1926) of Phototropism auxin

16. Some major classes of plant hormones: Auxin- phototropism Cytokinins- root growth Gibberellins- growth Abscisic acid- inhibits growth Ethylene- promote fruit ripening Brassinosteroids- inhibits root growth Many function in plant defense against pathogens

17. Polar Auxin Transport: A Chemiosmotic Model

18. Stimulates the elongation of cells in young shoots. Auxins are used commercially in the vegetative propagation of plants by cuttings. Synthetic auxins are used as herbicides Auxin

19. Cell elongation in response to auxin: the acid growth hypothesis

20. Cytokines stimulate cytokinesis, or cell division. The active ingredient is a modified form of adenine They are produced in actively growing tissues, particularly in roots, embryos, and fruits. Cytokinins interact with auxins to stimulate cell division and differentiation. A balanced level of cytokinins and auxins results in the mass of growing cells, called a callus, that remains undifferentiated. High cytokinin levels  shoot buds form from the callus. High auxin levels  roots form. Cytokines

21. Cytokinins, auxin, and other factors interact in the control of apical dominance, the ability of the terminal bud to suppress the development of axillary buds. The direct inhibition hypothesis - proposed that auxin and cytokinin act antagonistically in regulating axillary bud growth. Auxin levels would inhibit axillary bud growth, while cytokinins would stimulate growth.

22. Many observations are consistent with the direct inhibition hypothesis. If the terminal bud, the primary source of auxin, is removed, the inhibition of axillary buds is removed and the plant becomes bushier. This can be inhibited by adding auxins to the cut surface.

23. The direct inhibition hypothesis predicts that removing the primary source of auxin should lead to a decrease in auxin levels in the axillary buds. However, experimental removal of the terminal shoot (decapitation) has not demonstrated this. In fact, auxin levels actually increase in the axillary buds of decapitated plants.

24. Cytokinins retard the aging of some plant organs. They inhibit protein breakdown by stimulating RNA and protein synthesis, and by mobilizing nutrients from surrounding tissues. Leaves removed from a plant and dipped in a cytokinin solution stay green much longer than otherwise. Cytokinins also slow deterioration of leaves on intact plants. Florists use cytokinin sprays to keep cut flowers fresh.

25. Gibberellin: Stem elongation Fruit growth Germination Gibberellins Roots and leaves are major sites of gibberellin production

26. Stem Elongation Dwarf pea plants treated with gibberellins. After treatment dwarf pea plant grew to normal height.

27. Fruit Growth In many plants, both auxin and gibberellins must be present for fruit to set. Individual grapes grow larger the internodes of the grape bunch elongate.

28. Germination Seeds treated with gibberellins will break dormancy.

29. Abscisic acid (ABA) ABA generally slows down growth. Often ABA antagonizes the actions of the growth hormones - auxins, cytokinins, and gibberellins. It is the ratio of ABA to one or more growth hormones that determines the final physiological outcome. Functions in seed dormancy Abscisic Acid

30. Ethylene causes leaves to drop from trees. It’s produced in response to stresses such as drought, flooding, mechanical pressure, injury, and infection. Ethylene production also occurs during fruit ripening and during programmed cell death. Ethylene is also produced in response to high concentrations of externally applied auxins. Ethylene produced during apoptosis (programmed cell death) Ethylene

31. Ethylene triple response in seedlings that enables a seedling to circumvent an obstacle. Ethylene production is induced by mechanical stress on the stem tip. In the triple response, stem elongation slows, the stem thickens, and curvature causes the stem to start growing horizontally.

32. Arabidopsis mutants fail to undergo the triple response after exposure to ethylene. Some lack a functional ethylene receptor.

33. Other mutants undergo the triple response in the absence of physical obstacles.

34. The various ethylene signal-transduction mutants can be distinguished by their different responses to experimental treatments.

35. In deciduous trees, its an adaptation to prevent desiccation during winter when roots cannot absorb water from the frozen ground. Essential elements are salvaged prior to leaf abscission and stored in stem parenchyma cells. These nutrients are recycled back to developing leaves the following spring. Leaf Abscission

36. A change in the balance of ethylene and auxin controls abscission. Aged leaves produce less auxin Cells become more sensitive to ethylene The cells in the abscission layer produce enzymes that digest the cellulose and other components of cell walls. Hormones responsible for leaf abscission

37. The consumption of ripe fruits by animals helps disperse the seeds of flowering plants. Ethylene production helps ripen fruit The production of new scents and colors helps advertise fruits’ ripeness to animals, who eat the fruits and disperse the seeds. Fruit ripens quickly in closed paper bag Prevent ripening in produce by spraying CO2 Fruit Ripening

38. Brassinosteroids are steroids chemically similar to cholesterol and the sex hormones of animals. Brassinosteroids induce cell elongation and division in stem segments and seedlings. They also retard leaf abscission and promote xylem differentiation. Brassinosteroids are nonauxin hormones. Brassinosteroids

39. Light is an especially important factor on the lives of plants. Photosynthesis Cue many key events in plant growth and development. Photomorphogenesis- the effects of light on plant morphology. Light reception – circadian rhythms. The effect of light on plants

40. Plants detect the direction, intensity, and wavelengths of light. For example, the measure of physiological response to light wavelength, the action spectrum, of photosynthesis has two peaks, one in the red and one in the blue. These match the absorption peaks of chlorophyll. Action Spectrum

41. Blue light is most effective in initiating a diversity of responses. Blue-light photoreceptors are a heterogeneous group of pigments

42. The biochemical identity of blue-light photoreceptors was so elusive that they were called cryptochromes. Analysis Arabidopsis mutants found three completely different types of pigments that detect blue light. cryptochromes (for the inhibition of hypocotyl elongation) phototropin (for phototropism) zeaxanthin (for stomatal opening) a carotenoid-based photoreceptor called

43. Phytochromes were discovered from studies of seed germination. Seed germination needs optimal environmental conditions, especially good light. Such seeds often remain dormant for many years until a change in light conditions. For example, the death of a shading tree or the plowing of a field may create a favorable light environment. Phytochromes function as photoreceptors in many plant responses to light

44. Action spectrum for light-induced germination of lettuce seeds. Seeds were exposed to a few minutes of monochromatic light of various wavelengths and stored them in the dark for two days and recorded the number of seeds that had germinated under each light regimen. While red light increased germination, far red light inhibited it and the response depended on the last flash.

45. The photoreceptor responsible for these opposing effects of red and far-red light is a phytochrome.

46. This interconversion between isomers acts as a switching mechanism that controls various light-induced events in the life of the plant. The Pfr form triggers many of the plant’s developmental responses to light. Exposure to far-red light inhibits the germination response.

47. Plants synthesize phytochrome as Pr and if seeds are kept in the dark the pigment remains almost entirely in the Pr form. If the seeds are illuminated with sunlight, the phytochrome is exposed to red light (along with other wavelengths) and much of the Pr is converted to (Pfr), triggering germination.

48. The phytochrome system also provides plants with information about the quality of light. During the day, with the mix of both red and far-red radiation, the Pr <=>Pfr photoreversion reaches a dynamic equilibrium. Plants can use the ratio of these two forms to monitor and adapt to changes in light conditions.

49. Many plant processes oscillate during the day transpiration synthesis of certain enzymes opening and closing stomata Response to changes in environmental conditions Light levels Temperature Relative humidity Biological clocks control circadian rhythms in plants and other eukaryotes 24 hr day/night cycle

50. Many legumes lower their leaves in the evening and raise them in the morning. These movements will be continued even if plants are kept in constant light or constant darkness. circadian rhythms- internal clock; no environmental cues