Polyamines and Adventitious Root Formation in the Juvenile and Mature Phase of English Ivy

The involvement of polyamines during adventitious root formationwas evaluated using a de-bladed petiole rooting assay for theeasy-to-root juvenile and difficult-to-root mature phase ofEnglish ivy (Hedera helix L.). Auxin (NAA 0.1 mM) stimulatedroot formation in juvenile phase cuttings, but failed to promoterooting in the mature phase. The addition of putrescine, spermineor spennidine (1.0 mM) with or without NAA (0.1 mM) did notaffect the rooting response in either the juvenile or maturephase cuttings. There was a significant increase in endogenouslevels of putrescine and spermidine in NAA-treated cuttings,but the only significant difference between the root formingjuvenile and the non-root forming mature phase cuttings wasan increase in putrescine levels. In NAA-treated juvenile cuttings,the polyamine biosynthesis inhibitor DFMA (1.0 mM) promotedroot formation from 9.2 to 14.5 roots per cutting, while DFMO(1.0 mM) reduced root formation from 9.1 to 1.4 roots per cutting.The promotion of rooting by DFMA was completely reversed byputrescine (1.0 mM), but putrescine, spermine or spermidine(1.0 mM) could not reverse the inhibitory effect of DFMO. NeitherDFMA nor DFMO promoted root formation in mature phase cuttings.DFMA was also added to NAA-treated juvenile petioles at variousstages during the root formation process. DFMA promoted rootingwhen applied during the early stages of root induction (0–3d), but became inhibitory to root formation when applied duringthe organization (6–9 d) or root elongation stages (9–12d). Key words: Hedera helix, organogenesis, root initiation, polyamines, DFMA, DFMO     

Adventitious Root Initiation In Reciprocally Grafted Leaf Cuttings from the Juvenile and Mature Phase of Hedera helix L

Reciprocal grafts involving leaf petioles and lamina of thejuvenile and mature phase of Hedera helix were prepared to determinethe relative importance of petiole and lamina on root initiationin leaf cuttings. The results indicated that root initiationwas mainly a function of the potential of cells in the petioleto respond in a specific morphogenetic pattern. Initially, rootinitiation was unaffected by the type of lamina. However, overtime, a factor translocated from the juvenile lamina promotedroot initiation in the mature petiole. This factor decreasedthe time taken for root initiation and increased the numberof roots per mature petiole. There was no evidence for an inhibitorfrom the mature lamina affecting root initiation in the juvenilepetiole. Key words: Rejuvenation, root initiation, rooting cofactors