Relationships of Certain Nutrients, Metabolites, and Inhibitors to Growth in the Avena Coleoptile

Abstract

That growth of the coleoptile may be inhibited when iodoacetate is sup- plied to the roots of Avena plants was shown by ALBAUM and COMMONER (1) and ALBAUM and EICHEL (2). A growth response to potassium salts of several organic acids in the presence of iodoacetate was interpreted as a re- versal of iodoacetate inhibition. A reinvestigation of these responses (8) showed increased growth of the coleoptile to result when seedlings were grown in solutions of inorganic potassium salts as well as potassium salts of organic acids both in the presence and absence of iodoacetate. There were smaller responses to inorganic sodium salts as well as sodium salts of or- ganic acids. It was concluded that the growth response which results when potassium salts of several organic acids are supplied to the roots of intact Avena seedlings in the presence of iodoacetate may not be attributed to spe- cific reversal of iodoacetate inhibition by organic anions.