Endogenous IAA and morphogenesis in tobacco petiole cultures

Short duration (48 h) dark or high light treatment of the donor plants has been shown to influence the pattern of auxin metabolism in tobacco petioles in culture. In explants from dark treated donor plants there was a peak of IAA detectable at day 3 in culture. This was associated with reduced morphogenetic potential of the explant. Inclusion of 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid in the medium prevented this IAA accumulation and eliminated the inhibitory effect of the dark pretreatment. Inclusion of IAA in the culture medium reduced the morphogenetic potential of explants from high light treated donor plants but had no effect on the morphogenetie potential of explants from dark treated donor plants. Explants cultured for one day on auxin-free medium and then transferred to IAA-containing medium were sensitive to auxin; those transferred after five days were insensitive. Studies on the interaction between media sucrose concentrations, endogenous IAA and peroxidase, and morphogenesis are reported. The results are discussed in relation to the influence of endogenous auxin on the receptivity of explants to exogenous (media) morphogenetic stimuli.