The lateral transport of IAA in intact coleoptiles of Avena sativa L. and Zea mays L. during geotropic stimulation.

Movement of IAA was studied in excised coleoptile apices and whole seedlings of Zea mays L. and Avena sativa L. during geotropic stimulation. A micropipette technique permitted the application of [5-(3)H]IAA at predetermined points on the coleoptiles with minimal tissue damage.When [5-(3)H]IAA was applied to the upper side of a horizontal excised Zea coleoptile, about 60% of the recoverable radioactivity had moved into the lower half after 2 h. In contrast, when application was made to the lower side of a horizontal excised coleoptile, only 4% of the radioactivity migrated to the upper half. There was, thus, a net downward movement of 56%. Similar patterns of distribution were found for radioactivity in both the tissue and the basal receiver blocks. In horizontal shoot tissues of intact Zea seedlings a net downward movement of about 30% of the recoverable radioactivity occurred after 1 h of geotropic stimulation. Comparable experiments with Avena indicated a net downward movement of 6-12% in excised apices of coleoptiles and in the intact shoot. In both Zea and Avena chromatographic analyses of tissue and receiver blocks indicated that the movement of radioactivity reflected that of IAA.In Zea coleoptiles, the lateral migration of radioactivity after 2 h was 3 to 4 times greater in the apical tissues than in the basal tissues. A significant net downward movement of radioactivity was detected after 10 min of geotropic stimulation in the extreme apex of Zea coleoptiles but not in the more basal regions.These experiments show that downward lateral transport of IAA occurs in intact shoots of Zea and Avena seedlings upon geotropic stimulation. Lateral transport of IAA had previously been demonstrated only in sub-apical segments of Zea coleoptiles.