A new role for cytokinin plant hormones
Friday, September 9, 2011 - 08:30
in Biology & Nature
When plants, including crops, are exposed to environmental stresses such as drought or high salinity, abscisic acid (ABA), a stress-responsive hormone is synthesized to induce a protective response. At the same time, the content of another plant hormone, cytokinin (CK), which is involved in regulation of plant growth, such as promotion of cell division or inhibition of senescence, is reduced. This phenomenon suggests that CK might play an essential role in regulation of plant adaptation to environmental stresses. However, how CK regulates plant response to stresses and how stresses regulate CK metabolism; these questions required answers.