IMMUNOCYTOCHEMICAL LOCALIZATION OF INDOLE-3-ACETIC-ACID IN PRIMARY ROOTS OF ZEA-MAYS

Colloidal gold-labelled antibody was used to localize indole-3-acetic acid in caps of primary roots of Z. mays cv. Kys. Gold particles accumulated on the nucleus, vacuoles, mitochondria, and some dictyosomes and dictyosome-derived vesicles. This is the first localization of indole-3-acetic acid in dictyosomes and dictyosome-derived vesicles and indicates that dictyosomes and vesicles constitute a pathway for indole-3-acetic acid movement in and secretion from root cap cells. Our findings provide cytochemical evidence to support the hypothesis that indole-3-acetic acid plays an important role in root gravitropism.