Abstract
In his perspective “Growth by auxin: when a weed needs acid” (7 Oct. 2005, p. 60), M. Grebe asserts that the acid-growth theory describes how the plant hormone auxin (indole-3-acetic acid, IAA) stimulates cell elongation in developing organs such as leaves and roots. On the basis of this statement, he presents the hypothesis that the proton pump AVP1 of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana causes cell elongation via IAA-induced acid secretion. Grebe refers to a single review article (1) by Achim Hager, the spiritual father of the acid-growth concept. Hager's wall acidification model is based on experiments with shoots of grass seedlings (coleoptiles, which are leaf-like axial organs). The hypothesis was proposed in 1971 and thereafter carefully evaluated by scientists (1–4).
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