Effect of epibrassinolide on hypocotyl growth of the tomato mutant diageotropica

The effect of epibrassinolide (epiBR) on the growth and gravitropism of hypocotyls was investigated in diageotropica (dgt), a mutant of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). The elongation of (dgt) hypocotyls, which had been reported to be auxin-insensitive, was promoted by increasing concentrations of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in the presence of epiBR. α-(p-Chlorophenoxy)isobutyric acid, an inhibitor of auxin action, blocked the enhancement of growth by IAA and epiBR. Time course analysis of IAA-induced dgt hypocotyl elongation in the presence of epiBR revealed typical auxin response kinetics. These results suggest that epiBR restores the auxin responsiveness of dgt hypocotyls with respect to elongation. However, epiBR did not rescue the dgt phenotype with respect to shoot gravitropism. It was therefore concluded that brassinosteroid insensitivity or deficiency is not the primary defect of the dgt mutation. Received: 23 January 1998 / Accepted: 20 June 1998