The orientation of cell wall microtubules in wheat coleoptile segments subjected to phytohormone treatment

Abstract

The effect of plant hormones was studied on the growth of excised coleoptile segments of wheat plantlets grown under daylight conditions. In addition to the change in growth, that in the orientation of microtubules and cellulose microfibrils was investigated in parenchyma cells. Following a 6-h treatment gibberellin, and still more kinetin, stimulated the thickening of segments, which became evident also in an altered orientation of microtubules. Whereas in the control the microtubules and wall microfibrils were oriented randomly, following gibberellin treatment they were all parallel and formed an acute angle with the longitudinal cell axis. A still more pronounced difference resulted after kinetin treatment, when microtubules were localized parallel with the longitudinal cell axis. Auxin had the opposite effect: it stimulated the elongation of the segments, which became evident in a transverse orientation of both wall microtubules and microfibrils.