The Roles of Plant Hormones in the Growth of the Corolla of Gaillardia grandiflora (Asteraceae) Ray Flowers

Abstract

Corolla elongation and the roles of plant hormones in this process in Gaillardia grandiflora Van Houtte ray flowers were examined. The sterile ray flowers elongated during a 2-day period, and corolla growth was accompanied by fresh and dry weight increases and epidermal cell elongation (greatest near the base of the corolla) but not by cell division. Corollas excised from young ray flowers were measured during treatment in vitro with solutions of plant growth regulators. They elongated in response to gibberellins and fusicoccin but did not respond to auxins, cytokinins, abscisic acid, ethylene, or inhibitors of ethylene biosynthesis. Sequential and simultaneous hormone applications indicated no additive or synergistic effects between hormones, but auxin did reduce gibberellin-promoted growth. Analyses of endogenous auxins showed no significant variation, and ethylene production decreased prior to elongation, while a 20-fold increase in endogenous gibberellin activity was observed just prior to rapid corolla elongation. It appears that corolla growth in Gaillardia is accomplished by an increase in gibberellin activity alone, that multiple hormone interactions are not important in the control of corolla growth, and that part of the mode of action of gibberellin is acid-induced growth.