Abstract
Plant roots perceive various environmental stimuli such as water,gravity and touch.Recently,the bending response of roots towards higher concentrations of oxygen (oxytropism) was found in Pea plants.To elucidate the molecular mechanism of oxygen sensing in plants,we developed a new simple method of measuring the response of roots to hypoxia in Arabidopsis thaliana.
Seedlings were grown on GM medium for 6 days under continuous light in petri dishes.Following 6 days growth,an oxygen-remover was added to expose the seedlings to a low concentration of oxygen for 2 days.A 90% reduction in oxygen induced ectopic formation of elongated root hairs at root tips.
The role of ethylene in root hair formation is well documented.Therefore we compared hypoxia-induced root hairs with the root hairs of plants treated with ACC. Moreover,we assessed the effects of the ethylene synthase inhibitor AVG on hypoxia induced root hair formation.
