TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sr. no. CHAPTERS Page no.

 Introduction 4
1 Function of Plant Hormones 4
2 Types of Plant Hormones 4
3 Auxins 5
4 Gibberellins 6
5 Cytokinins 8
6 Ethylene 9
7 Abscisic Acid 11
8 Brassinosteroids 12
9 Strigolactone 13
10 Jasmonic Acid 14
11 Conclusion 16
12 References 17
 TABLE OF FIGURES

Fig. no. Description Page no.

3.1 Structure of Auxin 5
4.1 Structure of Gibberellic Acid 7
5.1 Structure of Zeatin 9
6.1 Structure of Ethylene 10
7.1 Structure of Abscisic Acid 12
8.1 Structure of Brassinosteroids 13
9.1 Structure of Strigol 14
10.1 Structure of Jasmonic Acid 15

Introduction

A hormone is any chemical produced in one part of the body and targets somewhere else in the body. Hormones
and enzymes serve as control chemicals in multicellular organisms.

Plant hormones are chemicals used by plants for communication, coordination, and development between their
many cells. Plants rely on these chemical signals to direct the expression of DNA and other operations of the
cell.

They are also referred to as Plant Growth Substances, Plant Growth Regulators or Phytohormones.

1) Function of Plant Hormones:

Plant hormones profoundly influence the growth and differentiation of plant cells, tissues and organs; and
function as chemical messengers for intercellular communication. They occur in very small proportions within
the plant. Each hormone differs in its effects. Plant hormones are simple in their structure as compared to those
of animals. There are no specific or specialized glands that produce these hormones. Besides the hormones,
there are many plant growth factors that affect the function and growth of plants.
2) Types of Plant Hormones:

Plant Growth Regulators can be of a diverse chemical composition such as gases (ethylene), terpenes
(gibberellic acid) or carotenoid derivates (abscisic acid). Based on their action they are classified as follows:

 Plant Growth Promoters:

They promote cell division, cell enlargement, flowering, fruiting and seed formation. Examples are
auxins, gibberellins and cytokinins.

 Plant Growth Inhibitors:

These chemicals inhibit growth and promote dormancy and abscission in plants. An example is an
abscisic acid.

Ethylene can be a promoter or an inhibitor, but is largely a plant growth inhibitor.

3) Auxins:

Auxin molecules are involved in cellular regulation. They are manufactured in the shoot tips, in embryos, and
in parts of developing flowers and seeds. It is actively transported from cell to cell through the parenchyma
surrounding the vascular tissues.

Discovery:

Auxins were the first plant hormone to be discovered, due to the observations of Charles Darwin and his son,
Francis Darwin. They observed that the coleoptile in canary grass grows and bends towards the source of light.
This phenomenon is ‘phototropism’. Their experiments showed that the coleoptile tip was the site responsible
for the bending. Finally, this led to the isolation of the first auxin by F. W. Went from the coleoptile tip of oat
seedlings.

Types of Auxins:

Plants produce natural auxins such as Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and Indole butyric acid (IBA). Naphthalene
acetic acid (NAA) and 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic (2, 4-D) are examples of synthetic auxins.

Structure of Auxin:
Auxin molecules are derived from the amino acid tryptophan. This amino acid has a six-sided carbon ring,
attached to a 5-sided ring containing carbon. This 5-sided ring has a group attached. Most auxins are some
derivation of this molecule.

Fig. 3.1

This figure shows the structure of Auxin.

Positive Effect of Auxins on Plants:

 Stimulation of cell elongation by increasing the plasticity of the cell wall

 Cell division in cambium
 Differentiation of phloem and xylem
 Root initiation on stem cuttings
 Lateral root development in tissue culture
 Activates a gene required for making a protein necessary for growth and other genes for the synthesis
of wall materials made and secreted by dictyosomes.
 Maintains apical dominance indirectly by stimulating the production of ethylene, which directly
inhibits lateral bud growth.
 Stimulation of femaleness of dioecious flowers
 Suppresses the abscission (separation from the plant) of fruits and leaves; lowered production of auxin
in the leaf is correlated with natural detachment (abscission) of older leaves and fruits.
 Induce parthenocarpy i.e. the production of fruit without prior fertilization.
 Inhibits most flowering (but promotes flowering of pineapples).
 Controls aging and senescence, dormancy of seeds and delays leaf senescence

Negative Effect of Auxins on Plants:

 High concentration of auxins can be toxic for plant as it inhibits the shoot growth directly.
  At high concentration the part of plant, above auxin application point, slows down or ceases its rate of
growth.

Applications:

 Synthetic auxins are extensively used as herbicides, like 2, 4-D is widely used as an herbicide to kill
dicotyledonous weeds.
 2,4‐D and 2,4,5‐T (2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic acid) were used in a 1:1 combination as Agent
Orange during the Vietnam War and sprayed over the Vietnam forests as a defoliant.

4) Gibberellin:

It is a type of plant and fungal hormone. Gibberellins are widespread and, in both flowering, (angiosperms)
and non-flowering (gymnosperms) plants as well as ferns. There are more than 70 gibberellins isolated. They
are GA1, GA2, GA3 and so on. GA3 (Gibberellic acid) is the most widely studied plant growth regulators.

Gibberellins are present in the meristems of apical buds and roots, young leaves, and embryo, and are carried
by the xylem and phloem.

Discovery:

Gibberellins were discovered originally in Japan. A fungus called Gibberella fujikuroi infected rice plants and
caused them to grow too tall and fall over. The infectious fungus produced a chemical that stimulated the
growth in rice plants. The chemical was isolated and named Gibberellin after the fungus. It was later found
that plants naturally produce variations of these chemicals.

Structure:

Gibberellin is a diterpenoid. It forms the basis of molecules such as vitamins A and E. The structure of all the
gibberellins is the same with several side groups attached. These groups determine the unique functions of
gibberellins in different tissues.

Fig. 4.1
This figure shows the structure of Gibberellic Acid.

Positive Effect of Gibberellins on Plants:

 Stimulate stem elongation by stimulating cell division and elongation.

 Stimulates bolting (i.e. sudden growth of a plant just before flowering) in response to long days, in
plants like cabbages and beet.
 Breaks seed dormancy in some plants which require light to induce germination.
 Stimulates enzyme production (a-amylase) in germinating cereal grains for mobilization of seed
reserves.
 Induces maleness in dioecious flowers (sex expression).
 Can cause parthenocarpy (seedless fruit development).
 Can delay senescence (i.e. aging) in leaves and citrus fruits. As a result, their market period is extended.
 Vernalization or low temperature requirement of some plants can be replaced by gibberellins.

Negative Effect of Gibberellins on Plants:

 High concentration of gibberellins can be slightly inhibitory and can induce dwarfism in dwarf mutant
plants.

Applications:

 The brewing industry uses GA3 to speed the malting process.

 Spraying gibberellins increase sugarcane yield by lengthening the stem.
 Used to hasten the maturity period in young conifers and promote early seed production

5) Cytokinins:

These plant growth hormones are basic in nature, either amino purine or phenyl urea derivatives, that promote
cytokinesis (cell division) either alone or in conjunction with auxin. The cytokinins have a molecular structure
similar to adenine. Naturally occurring zeatin is the most active type of cytokinin and it was first isolated from
corn (Zea mays).

Cytokinins are found in sites of active cell division in plants, for example, in root tips, seeds, fruits, and leaves.
They are transported in the xylem and work in the presence of auxin to promote cell division.

Discovery:
F. Skoog and his co-workers observed a mass of cells called ‘callus’ in tobacco plants. These cells proliferated
only when the nutrient medium contained auxins along with yeast extract or extracts of vascular tissue. Skoog
and Miller later identified the active substance responsible for proliferation and called it kinetin.

Structure:

All the naturally-occurring cytokinins are substituted purines. The usual way of naming a cytokinin is to
express it as a substituted 6-amino purine or as N6-substituted adenine.

Fig. 5.1

This figure shows the structure of Zeatin.

Positive Effect of Cytokinins on Plants:

 Promote lateral shoot growth and adventitious shoot formation.

 Promote nutrient mobilization which in turn helps delay leaf senescence.
 Stimulates cell division.
 Stimulates morphogenesis (shoot initiation/bud formation) in tissue culture.
 Stimulates the growth of lateral buds-release of apical dominance.
 Stimulates leaf expansion resulting from cell enlargement.
 Enhancement of stomatal opening in some plant species
 Etioplasts converted into chloroplasts through stimulation of chlorophyll synthesis.

Negative Effect of Cytokinins on Plants:

 Non-substituted aromatic cytokinins inhibit growth and branching of primary and lateral roots.
 Its small concentration may also cause thickening of root walls.

6) Ethylene:
Ethylene is produced in plants from the amino acid methionine. It is formed in almost all plant parts-roots,
leaves, flowers, seeds, fruits. Maximum synthesis occurs during climacteric ripening of fruits. Excess of auxin
also induces ethylene synthesis.

It is a gaseous hormone which stimulates transverse growth but retards the longitudinal one. The most
commonly used source of ethylene is Ethephon. Plants can easily absorb and transport an aqueous solution of
ethephon and release ethylene slowly.

Discovery in Plants:

Ethylene has been used in practice since the ancient Egyptians, who would gas figs in order to stimulate
ripening. It was in 1864, that leaks of gas from street lights showed stunting of growth, twisting of plants, and
abnormal thickening of stems. Then a Russian physiologist named Dimitry N. Neljubow first established that
ethylene affects plant growth. He identified ethylene in illuminating gas and showed that it causes a triple
response on pea seedlings: inhibited stem elongation, increased stem thickening, and a horizontal growth habit.

Structure:

Ethylene is a hydrocarbon, and it has four atoms of hydrogen bonds that are paired with carbon atoms with a
double bond. All these six atoms H-C-H form an angle of 117.4°, close to the 120° to form a hybridized carbon
sp².

Fig. 6.1

This figure shows the structure of ethylene.

The bond is rigid about the C-C bond with high energy process by breaking the π-bond.

 Positive Effect of Ethylene on Plants:

 Affects horizontal growth of seedlings and swelling of the axis in dicot seedlings.
 Promotes abscission and senescence of leaves, fruit and flowers.
 Enhances respiration rate during ripening of fruits. This phenomenon is ‘respiratory climactic’.
 Increases root growth and root hair formation, therefore helping plants to increase their absorption
surface area.
  Leads to release of dormancy state
 Flower induction in Bromeliad
 Stimulation of femaleness of dioecious flowers

Negative Effect of Ethylene on Plants:

 Excess ethylene can cause rotting of fruits and vegetables

 Its high concentration can cause rapid death of cut flowers and early abscission of leaves of ornamental
plants.

Applications:

 Used to break seed and bud dormancy and initiate germination in peanut seeds.
 To promote sprouting of potato tubers.
 Used to boost rapid petiole elongation in deep water rice plants.
 To initiate flowering and synchronizing fruit-set in pineapples.
 To induce flowering in mango.
 Ethephon hastens fruit ripening in apples and tomatoes and increases yield by promoting female
flowering in cucumbers. It also accelerates abscission in cherry, walnut and cotton.

7) Abscisic Acid:

Abscisic acid is a single compound. It was called "abscisin II" originally because it was thought to play a major
role in abscission of fruits. At about the same time another group was calling it "dormin" because they thought
it had a major role in bud dormancy. The name abscisic acid (ABA) was coined by a compromise between the
two groups. Abscisic acid mostly acts as an antagonist to Gibberellic acid.

It is also called stress hormone because the production of hormone is stimulated by drought, water logging and
other adverse environmental conditions.

Discovery:

Three independent researchers reported the purification and characterization of three different inhibitors –
Inhibitor B, Abscission II and Dormin. Later, it was found that all three inhibitors were chemically identical
and were, therefore, together were given the name abscisic acid.

Structure:
The naturally occurring abscisic acid synthesized by the plants is dextrorotatory and is referred to as (+) –
abscisic acid, but commercial ABA is a racemic (±) mixture.

Fig. 7.1

This figure shows the structure of Abscisic Acid.

Abscisic acid is found mostly near leaves, stems, and unripe fruit. Transport of ABA occurs readily in both
xylem and phloem and also in parenchyma cells outside vascular bundles.

Positive Effect of Abscisic Acid on Plants:

 Regulate abscission and dormancy.

 Stimulates closure of stomata in the epidermis.
 It increases the tolerance of plants to different kinds of stress and is, therefore, called ‘stress hormone’.
 Important for seed development and maturation.
 Induces gene transcription especially for proteinase inhibitors in response to wounding which may
explain an apparent role in pathogen defense.
 Inhibition of shoot growth
 Inducing seeds for synthesizing storage of proteins

Negative Effect of Abscisic Acid on Plants:

 Its high concentration prevents the outgrowth and elongation in bud.

8) Brassinosteroids:

Brassinosteroids are plant polyhydroxy steroid hormones, with functions similar to auxins. About 70 naturally
occurring brassinosteroids are known. They appear to be widely distributed in plant kingdom. They can travel
a long distance in plants and move in Acropetal direction (from roots to leaves).

Discovery:
Brassinosteroids were discovered in 1960’s during the study of Brassica napus (rape seed) pollen. In1979, it
was identified as a steroid (triterpenoid) compound. Different brassinosteroids were separated on the basis of
their structure. Brassinolide is the most active and common phytohormone of this type.

Structure:

Its structure is found to be in comparison with mammalian sex steroid hormones, testosterone and estradiol,
and the insect steroid hormone ecdysone.

Fig. 8.1

This figure shows the general structure of Brassinosteroids.

Positive Effect of Brassinosteroids on Plants:

 Promotes shoot elongation

 Promotes ethylene biosynthesis
 Inhibits fruit abscission
 Promote seed germination
 Increase the rate of gene expression activities
 Increase pollen tube growth
 Increase tolerance against abiotic stress

Negative Effect of Brassinosteroids on Plants:

 It acts as a plant root growth inhibitor

 It may inhibit lipid degradation in plants
 It suppresses phloem differentiation

9) Strigolactone:
Strigolactones are carotenoid-derived terpenoid lactones and are known as endogenous plant hormones. They
are produced both in roots and shoots, and travel long distances in plants through xylem. They occur in a wide
variety of monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous species.

Discovery:

Strigolactones were originally discovered as a compound for the germination of the parasitic weed Striga lutea
(witchweed) and it was exuded by the roots of its host plant. In 1966, they were first isolated from cotton plant.

Structure:

Strigolactone is composed of four rings. Three rings form a tricyclic lactone, which is connected to the fourth
butenolide ring through enol-ether bridge.

Fig. 9.1

This figure shows the structure of Strigol.

Strigol and Orobanchol are naturally occurring strigolactones.

Positive Effect of Strigolactone on Plant:

 Stimulate the germination of arbuscular mycorrhiza spores

 Induce secondary thickening in shoots
 Stimulates formation of lateral roots and root hairs by controlling the auxin action

Negative Effect of Strigolactone on Plants:

 Favor the germination of parasitic plant seed

 Inhibit shoot branching

10) Jasmonic Acid:

Jasmonates are derived from α-linolenic acids. They interact with many other plant hormones and therefore
also have essential functions throughout development, notably during plant reproduction, leaf senescence and
in response to many biotic and abiotic stresses. These hormones are ubiquitous in plant kingdom and are
produced by some fungi species. They are Novel plant immune hormones.

Discovery:

The first jasmonate to be discovered was Methyl Jasmonate which was isolated from the essential oil of
Jasmonium grandiflorum in 1962. It was discovered as a secondary metabolite. In Kingdom Fungi, it was first
isolated from culture filtrate of Lasiodiplodia theobromae.

Structure:

Jasmonates are cyclopentanone compounds, and are included in group of oxygenated fatty acids known as
oxylipins.

Fig. 10.1

This figure shows the structure of Jasmonic Acid.

Positive effect of Jasmonates on Plant:

 Induces tuber formation in Potato

 Stimulates tendril coiling in Bryonia
 Regulates circadian events in Albizzia
 Induces trichome formation in Tomato
 Stimulates senescence
 Produces resistance against biotic stress (virus, bacteria, parasitic fungi, insects)

Negative effects of Jasmonates on Plants:

  Inhibits root growth
 Delays seed germination

11) Conclusion:

All plant hormones are essential for plants to coordinate with its own organs and survive in its surroundings.
These phytohormones work in relation with each other. Their low amount can inhibit plant growth or yield.
But their high concentration is also toxic for plants. The are required in small amounts by the plant and are
produced by different parts of a plant.
12) References:

Plant Growth Regulators. Available at: https://www.toppr.com/guides/biology/plant-growth-and-

development/plant-growth-regulators/

Types of Plant Hormones. Available at: https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/biology/plant-

biology/growth-of-plants/types-of-plant-hormones

Theories behind Plant Tissue Culture. Available at:

http://passel.unl.edu/pages/informationmodule.php?idinformationmodule=956783940&topicorder=10

Phytohormones (Journal of Science and Technology). Available at:

https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/496886

Brassinosteroids. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/brassinosteroid

Strigolactone. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-

sciences/strigolactone

Jasmonic Acid. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-

sciences/jasmonic-acid