Phenotypic Analysis of Arabidopsis Mutants: Auxin Hormone Response
This protocol was adapted from “How to Analyze a Mutant Phenotypically,” Chapter 4, in Arabidopsis: A Laboratory Manual (eds. Weigel and Glazebrook). Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA, 2002.INTRODUCTION
The hormone auxin is transported directionally through the plant body to effect a variety of morphological processes. In the embryo, auxin is required in the early stages of development to establish the bilateral axis of the developing embryo. Later, it participates in vascular element patterning and differentiation, lateral organ outgrowth in the root and shoot, and local growth responses to external stimuli such as light and gravity. A convenient way to measure auxin response, described in this protocol, is to monitor the effects of auxins or of auxin transport inhibitors on root growth.
