Complementary interactions between oxidative stress and auxins control plant growth responses at plant, organ, and cellular level

• Published in: Journal of experimental botany 2005-08, Vol.56 (418), p.1991-2001
• Main Authors: Pasternak, Taras, Potters, Geert, Caubergs, Roland, Jansen, Marcel A. K
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alloxan; Alloxan - pharmacology; Arabidopsis - growth & development; Arabidopsis thaliana; Ascorbic Acid - metabolism; auxin; auxin metabolism; Auxins; Biological and medical sciences; Cell cycle; cell differentiation; Cell Differentiation - drug effects; Cell growth; cultured cells; Epidermal cells; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Germination - drug effects; Glutathione - metabolism; Growth regulators; Herbicides - pharmacology; Indoleacetic Acids - pharmacology; Indoleacetic Acids - physiology; Metabolism; Oxidative stress; Oxidative Stress - physiology; paraquat; Paraquat - pharmacology; Plant cells; plant development; plant growth; Plant Leaves - cytology; Plant Leaves - drug effects; Plant physiology and development; Plant roots; Plant Roots - drug effects; Plant Roots - growth & development; Plants; Protoplasts; Protoplasts - metabolism; Research Papers; roots; Seedlings; Seedlings - drug effects; Seedlings - growth & development; Seeds - growth & development; signal transduction
• ISSN: 0022-0957; 1460-2431
• DOI: 10.1093/jxb/eri196

Plant stress responses are a key factor in steering the development of cells, tissues, and organs. However, the stress-induced signal transduction cascades that control localized growth and cell size/differentiation are not well understood. It is reported here that oxidative stress, exerted by paraquat or alloxan, induced localized cell proliferation in intact seedlings, in isolated root segments, and at the single cell level. Analysis of the stress-induced mitotic activity revealed that oxidative stress enhances auxin-dependent growth cycle reactivation. Based on the similarities between responses at plant, tissue, or single cell level, it is hypothesized that a common mechanism of reactive oxygen species enhanced auxin-responsiveness underlies the stress-induced re-orientation of growth, and that stress-induced effects on the protoplast growth cycle are directly relevant in terms of understanding whole plant behaviour.