What Makes a Plant Bend Toward the Light?

What Makes a Plant Bend Toward the Light? thumbnail
What Makes a Plant Bend Toward the Light?

Scientific research indicates that a certain class of plant hormones lead to the growth of plants toward a light source. Does this Spark an idea?

  1. Phototropism

    • The growth of a plant toward a light source is called phototropism.

    Postive Phototropism

    • Positive phototropism refers to plant growth toward a light source.

    Negative Phototropism

    • Negative phototropism refers to plant growth in a direction opposite of a light source.

    Explanation

    • Plants such as grasses typically grow toward a light source because cells on the dark side of the stem grow longer at a quicker rate than the cells on the same side as a light source, due to a skewed distribution of a plant hormone called auxin.

    Auxin Definition

    • The term "auxin" refers to any chemical substance that supports the growth of the coleoptile, which is the sheath that covers a grass seedling shoot. ("Auxin" comes from a Greek word meaning "to increase.")

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  • Photo Credit Anna Cervova, http://publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=2192

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