title: The role of ethylene and darkness in accelerated shoot elongation of Ammophila breviligulata upon sand burial.
abstract: The impact of elevated ethylene concentrations and darkness on the growth and development of shoot organs of Ammophila breviligulata was investigated under experimental conditions in a complete two-way design. The results were compared with data of partially sand buried plants. Enhanced ethylene concentrations and sand burial stimulated the formation of new stem nodes, a prerequisite for burial-induced shoot elongation. However, internode elongation itself could not be promoted by the phytohormone ethylene, by darkness, or by their interaction. Sand burial inhibited the formation of rhizomes and tillers and the investment in root and rhizome biomass. Darkness mimicked this effect for the number of rhizomes and the biomass allocated to roots and rhizomes, indicating that the change in light regime upon sand burial may play an important role in the signal transduction chain that leads to a different allocation pattern in A. breviligulata. The results are discussed within the context of alternative signals that might initiate the internode elongation response in sand-buried A. breviligulata plants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, University of Nijmegen, Toernooiveld 1, 6525 ED Nijmegen, The Netherlands Fax +31-243652409; e-mail: rensv@sci.kun.nl, , , , , , NL.
authors.forename: L A C J
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Voesenek
authors.affiliation: Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Centre for Terrestrial Ecology, PO Box 40, 6666 ZG Heteren, The Netherlands, , , , , , NL.
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: van der Putten
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Sciences, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada, , , , , , CA.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Maun
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, University of Nijmegen, Toernooiveld 1, 6525 ED Nijmegen, The Netherlands Fax +31-243652409; e-mail: rensv@sci.kun.nl, , , , , , NL.
authors.forename: C W P M
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Blom
keywords: Allocation; Darkness; Key words Ethylene; Sand burial; Shoot elongation