Desuppression of Leaf Primordia of Plagiochila arctica (Hepaticae) by Ethylene Antagonists.

Silver nitrate, alpha-aminooxyacetic acid, and aminoethoxyvinylglycine, three potent inhibitors of ethylene synthesis and action, induced the same kind of phenovariation in the liverwort Plagiochila arctica Bryhn and Kaal (Hepaticae) as do antagonists of the synthesis of hydroxyproline-containing protein. This finding (i) supports the hypothesis that hydroxyproline-protein has a role in ethylene-mediated suppression, (ii) provides evidence that the role of ethylene in the correlative development of leafy liverwort gametophytes may be similar to its role in flowering plants, and (iii) contributes to the characterization of a morphoregulatory system that mediates cellular suppression in leafy liverworts and possibly all land plants.