Promotion of mesocotyl growth in etiolated rice seedlings by 4-ethoxy-1-(p-tolyl)-s-triazine-2,6(1H,3H)-dione

Abstract

4-Ethoxy-1-(p-tolyl)-s-triazine-2,6(1H,3H)-dione (TA) promoted mesocotyl growth in dark-grown rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings. In cultivars of the japonica type TA alone showed a small promotive effect and TA+gibberellic acid(GA3) had a marked synergistic effect, while in other cultivars, mostly of the indica type, TA alone showed a great promotive effect and TA+GA3 had only an additive effect. In cv. Nato, a typical representative of cultivars showing the second type of response, the concentration of TA giving the greatest growth promotion was around 0.1-0.2 mM. In Nato seedlings treated with TA at 0.1 mM, the mesocotyls continued to elongate for 6 days and reached about 75 mm in length, while the mesocotyls of control seedlings grew to a maximum of about 10 mm and growth was limited to the first 3 days after planting. The TA-induced mesocotyl elongation was mainly the consequence of increased cell multiplication in the meristematic area immediately below the coleoptilar node. GA3, abscisic acid (ABA) and ethylene also stimulated mesocotyl growth in dark-grown Nato seedlings but their effects were much smaller than those of TA. ABA, like GA3, had an additive effect with TA, but ethylene suppressed the effect of TA and resulted in increased lateral expansion in the upper region of the mesocotyls of TA-treated seedlings.