CYTOKININS

Cytokinins have been found in all complex plants, as well as mosses, fungi, and bacteria.
Cytokinins are a group of hormones. These hormones promote cell division in plant roots and
shoots, and they promote the growth of buds. Today, there are about 200 different natural and
synthetic cytokinins known to botanists.
Most cytokinins are produced in the meristem of the roots. Meristem is the name given in
botany for the region of tissue within the part of a plant that actively promotes cell division.
Once the cytokinin has been produced in the roots, it travels up the xylem(the vascular tissue in
plants which conducts water and dissolved nutrients upwards from the root and also helps to
form the woody element in the stem), or vascular tissue, to other parts of the plant where
continuous growth takes place, such as young leaves, developing fruits, and seeds.

Function of Cytokinins
Cytokinins increase cell division by stimulating the production of proteins needed for mitosis.
Mitosis is non-sexual cell division that occurs in all living things producing additional cells for
body growth. In your body, mitosis is occurring every day, replacing dead and damaged cells and
allowing for growth. In plants, this process of mitosis creates additional cells that make the
plants grow. If you have ever played with building blocks that snap together, you can think of
them like plant cells. Every time the process of mitosis occurs, a new cell is formed to move to
the end of the plant, and this makes it longer or taller.

Release of cytokinins triggers the processes that lead to plant growth.

AUXINS
Auxins are a specific group of hormones that promote stem elongation and make plant cells
grow. They are produced in the stem, buds, and root tips. Auxins are not only critical to plant
growth, but they were also the first class of plant hormones to be discovered. A Dutch graduate
student named Frits Went first described auxins in 1926 and chose the name auxin from the
Greek word auxien, which means 'to grow.'

Functions
The main function of auxin is to help plants grow. Auxin stimulates plant cells to elongate, and
the apical meristem (A meristem is the tissue in most plants containing undifferentiated cells
called meristematic cells, found in zones of the plant where growth can take place. Meristematic
cells give rise to various organs of the plant and keep the plant growing. The shoot apical
meristem gives rise to organs like the leaves and flowers, while the root apical meristem
provides the meristematic cells for the future root growth) of a plant is one of the main places
that auxin is produced. This makes sense because the apical meristem is also the location that all
the other parts of a plant grow from - the stem, leaves, and flowers.
Auxin not only elongates cells, but it specifically elongates them in response to the environment.
In response to light, auxin will elongate cells on the dark side of a stem so that the plant literally
bends towards the light source. This is called phototropism, and it allows the plant to
photosynthesize as much as possible, which is important because photosynthesis is how a plant
makes food from light.

Auxin stimulates this plant to bend and grow toward the sunlight.
Auxin also elongates root cells down into the ground, while at the same time elongating cells in
the stem upward. This phenomenon, called gravitropism helps the plant develop a strong
underground support system and get nutrients from the ground, as well as helping it grow tall
towards the sunlight.
Auxin also plays a role in maintaining apical dominance by inhibiting growth of lateral buds.
Most plants have lateral (sometimes called axillary) buds located at nodes (where leaves attach to
the stem). Buds are embryonic meristems maintained in a dormant state. Auxin maintains this
dormancy. As long as sufficient auxin is produced by the apical meristem, the lateral buds remain
dormant. If the apex of the shoot is removed (by a browsing animal or a scientist), the auxin is no
longer produced. This will cause the lateral buds to break their dormancy and begin to grow. In
effect, the plant becomes bushier. When a gardener trims a hedge, they are applying apical
dominance.
Seeds also produce auxin as they develop, and this helps the fruit surrounding the seed to grow.
Food grown in greenhouses is usually not as developed as food grown in direct sunlight, which
makes sense because, as you have learned, sunlight stimulates the production of auxin.

GIBBERELLINS
Gibberellins are a group of plant hormones responsible for growth and development.
Chemically speaking, gibberellins are actually acids. They are produced in the plastids of plant
cells and are eventually transferred to the endoplasmic reticulum of the cell, where they are
modified and prepared for use.

Function of Gibberellins
Gibberellins are growth hormones that stimulate cell elongation and cause plants to grow taller.
Gibberellins also have a role in other processes in plants, including stem elongation, germination,
flowering, and fruit ripening.

Plant growth is stimulated by gibberellin hormones.

Once a plant releases gibberellins, its cells begin a process of elongation. Since plants are
composed of single cells stacked on top of one another, this elongation of thousands of
individual cells results in overall growth of the plant.
From this information you might deduce that gibberellins are extremely significant in the
greenhouse and florist industry throughout the world. Many dwarf plants that are used in
landscaping are short because the plant either cannot produce gibberellins or its cells are not
receptive to the hormone.
Farmers have learned that gibberellins stimulate bud and fruit formation on plants and have used
this to their benefit. They apply synthetic gibberellins to the plants to increase fruit production.

AUXINS, CYTOKININS AND GIBBERLINS

AUXINS are a class of plant hormones that promote stem elongation and root growth.
CYTOKININS are a class of plant hormones that promote cell growth and division.
GIBBERILINS are another class of plant hormones that promote seed germination, shoot
elongation, flower and fruit maturation