Lead toxicity effects on indole-3-ylacetic acid-induced cell elongation.

In vitro studies of IAA-induced cell elongation in Triticum aestivum have demonstrated that lead causes a large reduction in elongation. Inhibition of elongation can be reduced by increasing the concentration of IAA, or by the addition of calcium. The inhibitory effect appears to be linked with changes in the properties of the cell walls. Experiments are described which show that lead becomes bound strongly to certain chemical substances involved in cell wall architecture.