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TDZ: Mode of Action, Use and Potential in Agriculture

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Thidiazuron: From Urea Derivative to Plant Growth Regulator

Abstract

Strong cytokinin effects of thidiazuron (TDZ) in many plant species have been observed since its discovery in the 1970s. Several of these effects, such as cell division stimulatory activity, anti-senescence, anti-stress activity and ethylene production stimulation, have been adopted by agriculturalists and horticulturalists for a wide range of use. TDZ has been shown to promote the growth of various fruits, delay senescence of cut and potted flowers, increase stress tolerance and yield of several crops and cause defoliation of cotton. In this chapter, the mechanisms of how TDZ affects the desired traits are described, and the literature provides evidences reviewed. The information given here should convince everyone that TDZ is not a mysterious substance but that it triggers classical cytokinin responses in plants as successfully as natural cytokinins, no matter whether directly or indirectly. A direct TDZ effect is mediated through the activation of all the cytokinin receptors in plants and their downstream associated signalling pathways. The indirect effect of TDZ is considered to be its ability to inhibit the enzyme cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase which degrades cytokinins. This should lead to the elevation of endogenous cytokinin levels; however, it is not possible to distinguish whether the cytokinin effect was the effect of TDZ or the effect of endogenous cytokinins, since both share the same binding site in the proteins and the mechanism of action.

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank professor Miroslav Strnad and Lukáš Spíchal for the valuable comments, which contributed to the final version of this chapter. I wish to thank my wife Tereza Nislerová for the English corrections.

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  1. Laboratory of Growth Regulators, Centre of the Region Hana for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Institute of Experimental Botany, AS CR & Palacký University, Slechtitel u 27, Olomouc, 783 71, Czech Republic

    Jaroslav Nisler

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  1. Jaroslav Nisler
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Correspondence to Jaroslav Nisler .

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  1. Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, UP, India

    Naseem Ahmad

  2. Department of Botany & Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Mohammad Faisal

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Nisler, J. (2018). TDZ: Mode of Action, Use and Potential in Agriculture. In: Ahmad, N., Faisal, M. (eds) Thidiazuron: From Urea Derivative to Plant Growth Regulator. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8004-3_2

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