BIO 311D Lecture 20: Diverse strategies for acquiring energy
Document Summary
Gibberellins have a variety of effects on plant growth and development including: More than 100 different gibberellins have been identified that occur naturally in plants, but a much smaller subset occur in each plant species. Stem elongation: applying gibberellins to dwarf pea plants (such as the ones mendel used in his experiments) causes the stems to elongate. However, applying gibberellins to (cid:321)normal(cid:322) wild-type plants usually has no affect. Presumably, the wild-types already produce an optimal amount of. Fruit growth: gibberellins and auxin must be present for fruit to develop. Thompson seedless grapes benefit from the topical application of gibberellins in that they grow bigger, the internodes elongate enabling more space for the individual grapes, and the increased air circulation reduces infections from yeast and other microorganisms. Germination: gibberellins are released by a plant embryo when water is absorbed by seeds. This signals the seed to break dormancy and begin to germinate.
