Regulating Root & Shoot Growth
- Two plant hormones, auxin and cytokinin, interact together to ensure integration of root and shoot growth
- Auxin is responsible for cell elongation and is produced in the shoots
- Cytokinin is responsible for cell division and is produced in the roots
- Both hormones must be transported to the areas of the plant where they are not produced
- Cytokinin is transported in the xylem tissue as direction is always from root to shoot
- Auxin is transported in the phloem sap from shoot to root
- At certain concentrations the two hormones work together to ensure root and shoot growth is regulated; their activities can termed ‘complementary' due to the integration of their signaling
- At low concentrations auxin limits the action of cytokinin
- An increase in cytokinin level counteracts this inhibitory effect and leads to an inhibition of auxin signaling
- At higher concentrations of both hormones, these interactions between cytokinin and auxin are prevented