Localization of hormones

Plant growth and development relies on genetically controlled processes that regulate the ability of cells to elongate and differentiate. By use of the test plant Abies nordmanniana, where bud development and stem elongation are separated in time, we are determining how hormones such as cytokinins, auxin and brassinosteroids regulate the formation and size of the plant.

 

The implication of intercellular communication in the regulation of solute and hormone transport between the primordial shoot and the rest of the bud and stem is determined by symplastic tracers and photoactivation, whereas detailed cellular localization of hormones are established immunohistochemically and by chemical analysis.