
%0 Journal Article
%A Lejeune, Pierre 
%A Prinsen, Els 
%A Onckelen, Henry Van 
%A Bernier, Georges 
%T Hormonal control of ear abortion in a stress-sensitive maize (<emph type="2">Zea mays</emph>) inbred
%J Functional Plant Biology
%D 1998/06/26
%V 25
%N 4
%P 481-488
%K flowering, development, cytokinins, auxin, chilling.
%R https://doi.org/10.1071/PP97154
%U https://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/PP97154 
%X A cold-sensitive maize (Zea mays L.) inbred was used as a model for investigating the interactions between growth regulators, reproductive development, and environmental stress. In this genotype, a chilling treatment given just before floral transition caused the topmost ear to abort and be replaced at maturity by a sterile, leaf-like, structure. Exogenous applications of the synthetic auxin 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid or of the cytokinin benzyladenine respectively mimicked or prevented the abortive response caused by chilling. Chilling also induced a moderate decrease in the content of endogenous indoleacetic acid (IAA) in the apical shoot tissues. By contrast, zeatin-type cytokinins decreased dramatically (5&#8211;8 fold), both in the apical shoot tissues and in the xylem exudate of chilled plants. Overall, the ratio of free-IAA to zeatin-cytokinins was increased in the apical shoot of chilled plants. Our results suggest that: (1) ear abortion induced by chilling might be related to an altered cytokinin content; (2) the number of developing ears may be limited by the endogenous levels of cytokinins just before floral transition; and (3) cytokinins may have a potential for increasing yield in maize. 
