Responses of Arabidopsis roots to auxin studied with high temporal resolution: Comparison of wild type and auxin-response mutants

Abstract

We modified a video digitizer system to allow short-term high-resolution measurements of root elongation in intact seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. We used the system to measure the kinetics of promotion and inhibition of root elongation by applied auxin and to determine the dose-response relationship for auxin action on elongation in roots of wild-type seedlings and seedlings of mutants (axr1, aux1, and axr2) with altered auxin responsiveness. Roots of the mutants showed less inhibition in the presence of inhibitory concentrations of auxin than did roots of the wild type. The latent period preceding the change in elongation rate after auxin application was the same for axr1 and axr2 as for the wild type whereas the latent period for aux1 was about twice as long as for the wild type. Low concentrations (ca. 10−11 M) of auxin induced substantial promotion of root elongation in the wild type and in axr2.