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. 1989 Jan;89(1):269–273. doi: 10.1104/pp.89.1.269

Endogenous Gibberellins and Shoot Growth and Development in Brassica napus1

Stewart B Rood 1,2, Roger Mandel 1,2, Richard P Pharis 1,2
PMCID: PMC1055830  PMID: 16666524

Abstract

Greenhouse-grown oilseed rape (Brassica napus, annual Canola variety `Westar') plants were harvested at six dates from the vegetative phase until the early pod (silique)-fill/late flowering stage. Endogenous gibberellin (GA)-like substances were extracted from stems, purified, and chromatographed on silica gel partition columns prior to bioassay in serial dilution using the `Tan-ginbozu' dwarf rice microdrop assay. The concentrations of total endogenous GA-like substances were low during vegetative stages (1 nanogram GA3 equivalents/gram dry weight), and rose 300-fold by the time of floral initiation. After floral initiation the concentration of GA-like substances fell, then rose again during bolting to maximal levels during the early pod-fill stage (940 nanograms per gram dry weight). The qualitative profiles of GA-like substances varied across harvests, with higher proportions of a GA1-like substance at the early pod-fill stage. In a second study stems were similarly harvested at eight dates and the concentrations of endogenous GA1, the principal bioactive native GA of oilseed rape, were determined by gas chromatography-selected ion monitoring using [17,17-2H]GA1 as a quantitative internal standard. The concentration of GA1 increased at about the time of floral initiation and then subsequently fell, thus confirming the pattern noted above for total GA-like substances. The exogenous application of paclobutrazol (PP333), a persistent triazole plant growth regulator (PGR) which blocks GA biosynthesis, or another triazole, triapenthenol (RSW0411), prevented flowering as well as bolting; plants remained at the vegetative rosette stage. These results imply a causal role for endogenous GA, in the control of bolting, which normally precedes anthesis. Further, the rise in the concentration of total endogenous GA-like substances, including GA1, which was associated with floral initiation, and the prevention of visable floral development by the triazole PGRs, also indicates a role for endogenous GAs in the regulation of flowering in B. napus.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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