Gibberellin and ethylene control endoreduplication levels in the Arabidopsis thaliana hypocotyl

We have previously shown that endoreduplication levels in hypocotyls of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. are under negative control of phytochromes. In this study, the hormonal regulation of this process was analysed using a collection of A. thaliana mutants. The results show that two hormones in particular, gibberellin (GA) and ethylene, play distinct roles. Hypocotyl cells of the GA-deficient mutant gal-11 grown in the dark did not elongate and showed a greatly reduced endoreduplication. Normal endoreduplication could be restored by supplying 10(-9) M of the gibberellin GA(4+7), whereas the restoration of normal cell growth required 100-fold higher concentrations. The GA-insensitive mutant gai showed reduced cell elongation but normal ploidy levels.. We conclude that (i) GA(4+7) has a global positive effect on endoreduplication and (ii) that endoreduplication is more sensitive to GA(4+7) than cell elongation. Ethylene had a completely different effect. It induced an extra round of endoreduplication both in light- and dark-grown seedlings and acted mainly on discrete steps rather than having a global effect on endoreduplication. The genes EIN2 and CTR1, components of the ethylene signal transduction pathway were both involved in this process.