Lignification and Xylogenesis in Lactuca Pith Explants Cultured In Vitro in the Presence of Auxin and Cytokinin: A Role for Endogenous Ethylene

Lignification and xylogenesis were studied in lettuce (Lactucasativa L. cv. Romaine) pith parenchyma explants cultured ona Murashige and Skoog basal medium supplemented with indole-3-aceticacid, kinetin, and glucose. Lignin formation was observed tooccur in two distinct phases, one preceding xylem differentiation(days 0–3 of culture) and another coincident with maximalxylogenesis (days 4–7). The rate of soluble phenolic productionby these explants increased concomitant with the first phaseof lignification, then decreased during the second phase. Addition of silver, an ethylene antagonist, to the culture mediuminhibited the second phase of lignification and markedly reducedwall-bound peroxidase activity. Exogenous L-methionine, an ethyleneprecursor, completely reversed the inhibitory effect of silveron ligm6cation and wall-bound peroxidase activity. Silver increasedphenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity, but had no effect on solublephenolic production or soluble pcroxidase activity. These resultssuggest that ethylene may play a role in controlling lignificationduring xylogenesis by inducing wall-bound peroxidase activity. Key words: Auxin, Cytokinin, Ethylene, Xylogenesis, Lignification, Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, Peroxidase