Auxins And Plant Growth

Auxin is an important signaling compound in plants and vital for plant development and growth. The present book, Auxin and its Role in Plant Development, provides the reader with detailed and comprehensive insight into the functioning of the molecule on the whole and specifically in plant development. In the first part, the functioning, metabolism and signaling pathways of auxin in plants are explained, the second part depicts the specific role of auxin in plant development and the third part describes the interaction and functioning of the signaling compound upon stimuli of the environment. Each chapter is written by international experts in the respective field and designed for scientists and researchers in plant biology, plant development and cell biology to summarize the recent progress in understanding the role of auxin and suggest future perspectives for auxin research.

Discusses various stages of plant life, emphasizing modern concepts and experiments dealing with physiology. Bibliogs.

The word auxin has a Greek origin: auxein means to enlarge or to grow. Auxins are an important category of plant hormones, regulating many aspects of plant growth and development throughout the plant cell cycle, from cell division, cell elongation and vascular differentiation to root initiation, somatic embryogenesis, apical dominance, tropistic responses, flowering, fruit ripening, senescence, parthenocarpy, dormacy and pollen maturation. Common purification procedures for the determination of auxins include column chromatography, solid phase extraction, liquid-liquid and mass spectrometric detection. This book discusses the production, biosynthesis and role of auxin in plant development. The topics include the effects of inoculation of auxin producing bacteria on root development in model plants and semi-ardwood olive cuttings; auxin's role in plant defence; auxin's influence on plant developmental responses during salinity; the history, synthesis, transport, determination, metabolism, properties and physiological effects of auxins in plant growth; and the inclusion compounds of auxins in cyclodextrins.

Plant hormones have pivotal roles in the regulation of plant growth, development, and reproduction. Their signaling pathways are interconnected in a complex network, which provides plants with an enormous regulatory potential to rapidly adapt to their environment and to utilize their limited resources for growth and survival in a cost-efficient manner. Auxin is a hormone molecule whose activity levels are most important for its regulatory roles during plant cell, organ, and tissue development. Therefore, the precise regulation of auxin levels is an essential mechanism to fine-tune the activity of this powerful hormone during plant growth and development. Likewise, cytokinins exhibit a wide range of physiological functions, including regulation of shoot and root apical meristems, stimulation of branching, vascular development, chloroplast differentiation, stabilization of the structure and function of the photosynthetic machinery, delay of senescence, stomata opening, and elevation of the sink strength and nutritional signaling. Moreover, gibberellins also regulate many aspects of plant growth and development including seed germination, stem elongation, leaf expansion, and flower and fruit development. The broad implication of gibberellins in plant development is strictly associated with tight regulation of their metabolism by multiple environmental and endogenous factors, ranging from light and temperature to other hormones including feedback control. Understanding the significant roles of these phytohormones in plant biology, the current subject has attracted the attention of scientists from across the globe. This comprehensive volume “Auxins, Cytokinins and Gibberellins Signaling in Plants” highlights the various prospects involved in the current scenario. The book comprises the chapters from diverse areas dealing with biotechnology, molecular biology, proteomics, genomics, metabolomics, etc.