auxin
- Key People:
- Kenneth V. Thimann
auxin, any of a group of plant hormones that regulate growth, particularly by stimulating cell elongation in stems. Auxins also play a role in cell division and differentiation, in fruit development, in the formation of roots from cuttings, in the inhibition of lateral branching (apical dominance), and in leaf fall (abscission).
The most important naturally occurring auxin is ß-indolylacetic acid (IAA), which is formed either from the amino acid tryptophan or from the breakdown of carbohydrates known as glycosides. This hormone affects plants by its action on chemical bonds of carbohydrates comprising plant cell walls. The process permits the cells to be irreversibly altered and is accompanied by the entry of water and the synthesis of new cell wall material.
In addition to promoting normal growth in plant length, IAA and other auxins influence the growth of stems toward the light (phototropism) and against the force of gravity (geotropism). The phototropic response occurs because greater quantities of auxin are distributed to the side away from the light than to the side toward it, causing the shaded side to elongate more strongly and thus curve the stem toward the light. Similarly, the geotropic response occurs because more auxin accumulates along the lower side of the growing stem than along the upper side, generating an upward curvature. The downward growth of roots is also associated with a greater quantity of auxin in their lower halves. This effect is attributed to an inhibitory action of auxins on root growth, but this aspect of auxin action is not yet fully understood. See also tropism.
Many other naturally occurring and synthetic compounds called auxins also have growth-promoting properties, but they are not always as active as IAA. Some of these compounds, however, resist the enzymatic destruction that is the normal fate of IAA within the plant; this feature is of great value in research and in horticulture, because auxin action can be prolonged. Both natural and synthetic auxins are used in horticulture, agriculture, home gardening, and plant science for the promotion of rooting, fruit setting, fruit thinning, and fruit-drop control. Other auxinlike compounds are used as selective weed killers (e.g., to disturb the leaf growth of dicotyledonous plants either in fields containing monocotyledonous cereal crops or in lawns) and as agents that remove leaves from dicotyledonous plants (defoliating agents).