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The Avena geo-curvature test

A quick and simple bioassay for auxins

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Summary

The Avena geo-curvature test is a bioassay for auxin-type growth regulators. Etiolated oat coleoptiles are used and the test is conducted in special perspex trays under diffuse daylight. The coleoptiles, with the primary leaves intact, are arranged in grooves on the trays in 4 series of 6 coleoptiles each, and cut to a size of 10 mm. The test substance is applied on an agar strip covering only the lower halves of the apical cut surfaces of each series. After a 4-hour stay in the dark in moist Petri dishes the coleoptile cylinders are shadowgraphed on a 35-mm photographic film. The curvatures are measured from an enlarged projection (10 times natural size) of the shadowgraphs.

The lowest IAA concentration which can be determined is around 30 to 60 μg/l, i.e. about 1 to 2 ng IAA. The concentration response curves follow a logarithmic course up to 1,000 μg/l. The standard error of the mean in a test series comprising 6 coleoptiles is on an average ± 7%. The simple and quick procedures make it possible for a worker to test 60 to 80 fractions a day.

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References

  • Kaldewey, H.: Papier- und dünnschichtchromatographische Trennung, Farbreaktionen und biologischer Test einiger Wachstumsregulatoren aus Fruchtstielen von Fritillaria meleagris L. In: Coll. Internat CNRS Nr 123, S. 412–443. Paris 1964.

  • —, u. E. Stahl: Die quantitative Auswertung dünnschichtchromatographisch getrennter Auxine im Avena-Tageslichttest nach Söding (Avena-Silicagel-Krümmungstest). Planta (Berl.) 62, 22–38 (1964).

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  • Söding, H.: Die Wuchsstofflehre. Stuttgart: Thieme 1952.

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  • Went, F. W.: Wuchsstoff und Wachstum. Rec. Trav. bot. néerl. 29, 379–496 (1928).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Botanisches Institut der Universität des Saarlandes, Saarbrücken

    Harald Kaldewey, Jawahar Lal Wakhloo, Alfred Weis & Helga Jung

Authors
  1. Harald Kaldewey
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  2. Jawahar Lal Wakhloo
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  3. Alfred Weis
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  4. Helga Jung
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Additional information

Dedicated to Professor Hans Söding on the occasion of his seventieth birthday. The senior author expresses his special gratitude for having been initiated by Professor Söding in the study of auxins.

present address: Dpt. of Biology Princeton Univ. Princeton, N. J. 08540, U.S.A.

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Kaldewey, H., Wakhloo, J.L., Weis, A. et al. The Avena geo-curvature test. Planta 84, 1–10 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00384817

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00384817

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