Reversal of the light inhibition of pea stem growth by the gibberellins

Abstract

Gibberellin A (isolated by Yabuta and Hayashi(1)) and gibberellic acid (isolated by Cross(2)) represent a group of compounds which are rapidly coming to be recognized as of major importance in the physiology of higher plants. Phinney(3) has shown that the application of gibberellins will restore single-gene dwarf mutants of Maize to the normal phenotype, extending the results of Brian and Hemming,(4) who found that the application of gibberellic acid to dwarf varieties of Pisum resulted in growth rates equivalent to that of normal varieties. Lang(5) has shown that gibberellin will replace the vernalization requirement of biennial Hyoscyamus niger and, at higher doses, will replace the long-day requirement for flowering in this plant as well. Thus the gibberellins are active in promoting a response to at least two separate physiological phenomena which have, in the past, been inaccessible to chemical regulation.