CYTOKININS
Presented by:
Course Coordinator Pravinkumar Yumkhaibam
Dr. Arpita Mandal Khan Reg. No: H-2023-004-D
Ph.D. First year
Department of Floriculture, Medicinal and
Aromatic Plants
CYTOKININ
Cytokinin's are a group of plant growth hormones
that promote cell division.
Cytokinins have diverse effects on important
physiological functions in plants.
They are also vital importance for in vitro
manipulations of plant cells and tissues.
Cytokinins have been found in almost all higher
plants as well as mosses, fungai, bacteria, and also in
t RNA of many prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
HISTORY
1941: Johannes Van Overbeek discovered that the milky endosperm from
coconut also had this ability.
1955: Carlos Miller, a graduate student in Folke Skoog’s laboratory at the
University of Wisconsin, identifies kinetin from herring sperm.
1956: Miller and Skoog demonstrate that the ration of auxin: cytokinin alters
organogenesis in vitro.
1961-1963: Miller and Letham independently isolate zeatin, a naturally
occurring cytokinin from maize.
CYTOKININS OCCURRENCE & DISTRIBUTION
Kinetin- first cytokinin discovered and named after its cytokinesis.
Kinetin does not occur naturally, therefore usually considered a
“synthetic” cytokinin.
Most common cytokinin in Plants today is called zeatin which was
isolated from corn (Zea mays).
Cytokinins have been detected in a wide variety of plants; from
unicellular yeasts, algae to multicellular higher plants.
Cytokinins are found in root tips, xylem, young leaves; endosperms of
developing fruits, germinating seeds and tumour tissues.
Primary synthesis site- root tips.
Higher concentrations- immature seeds and developing
SITE OF
fruits.
CYTOKININ Naturally occurring cytokinin: coconut milk, tomato
SYNTHESIS juice, immature fruits of Zea mays.
STRUCTURE OF CYTOKININ
All Cytokinins are purines (adenine)
ring with a side chain at N6 position
(amino substituted adenine).
Zeatin is more active than all other
known Cytokinins because it contains
a highly reactive allylic –OH group in
its side chain.
Kinetin is a member of the class of 6-
aminopurines that is adenine carrying
a (furan-2-ylmethyl) substituent at the
exocyclic amino group.
Bioassay for Kinetin (or Cytokinins):
A number of bioassays have also been devised for cytokinins which are
based on their specific physiological activities. They are
Carrot root phloem bioassay
Cell division tests,
Chlorophyll retention tests.
Cell enlargement tests,
Germination tests and Differentiation tests.
Carrot Root Phloem Bioassay
(Vibha Khanna., 2020)
Chlorophyll Retention Tests
(Vibha Khanna., 2020)
TRANSPORT OF CYTOKININS
A major location of cytokinin biosynthesis is the root tip.
Cytokinins have been found in the xylem sap, this class of hormones
is transported from the root to the aerial parts of plants.
A component possibly involved in this transport, a purine
transporter called AtPUP1, has been isolated from Arabidopsis by
the functional complementation of a yeast mutant deficient in
adenine uptake (Gillissen et al., 2000).
TWO-COMPONENT SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION
Two-component regulators are the
major routes by which bacteria sense
and respond to various environmental
cues (Hoch and Silhavy, 1995; Perraud
et al., 1999; West and Stock, 2001).
The two components generally consist
of a sensor kinase that perceives
environmental stimuli and a response
regulator.
PHYSIOLOGICAL ROLES OF CYTOKININS
1. CELL DIVISION
Cytokinin is involved in the formation, maintenance and growth of the
shoot apical meristem.
They are positive regulators - for cell division in the shoot apical meristem
and negative regulators -for cell division in the root apical meristem.
Cell division occurs when both IAA and cytokinin is applied jointly rather
than individually.
Secondary growth occurs in cambium cells due to cell division.
Direct application of cytokinins to axillary buds – inhibits apical
dominance and stimulates the growth of lateral buds in the many species,
dominant the inhibitory effect of the shoot apex.
2. CELL ELONGATION
Like auxin and gibberellins, cytokinin also promotes cell
enlargement.
Significant cell enlargement has been observed after kinetin
treatment in cortical cells of tobacco roots, tobacco pith cultures,
leaf discs cut from etiolated leaves of pumpkin etc.
3. INITIATION OF INTERFASCICULAR CAMBIUM
Kinetin can induce formation of intrafascicular cambium and there
by secondary growth. (This is actually shown by Sorokin et al., 1962
in pea stem sections).
4. MORPHOGENESIS:
Cytokinin and auxin stimulate morphogenesis
(shoot and root initiation) in the callus.
When auxin is present alone or if the ratio of
auxin to cytokinin is high- callus will initiate
root formation.
Likewise if cytokinin is present in high
concentration- promotes shoot formation.
Equal amount of both hormones results- the
proliferation of undifferentiated callus.
The cytokinins also stimulate the production of
buds in leaf segments of various plants such as
Bryophyllum, Begonia,etc
5. DELAY OF SENESCENCE
Senescence is the phenomenon in which the
mature leaves lose their pigment chlorophyll,
turn yellow, proteins are degraded and ultimately
they shed from the plant.
Hormones are key signal molecules that
accelerate or delay the timing of leaf senescence.
Richmond and Lang (1957) while working on
detached leaves of Xanthium, observed that
application of cytokinins delays the process of
senescence for a number of days. The
phenomenon of delaying senescence by
application of ctyokinins is known as Richmond-
Lang effect.
6. COUNTERACTION OF APICAL DOMINANCE
External application of Cytokinins promotes the growth of lateral bud
even if the apical bud is intact.
Sorokin and Thimann (1964) experimentally demonstrated that
cytokinins caused the formation of a vascular connection ( which was
not allowed to be formed by auxin released from the apical bud)
which increases water and solute supply for a renewed growth of the
lateral buds.
Thus, the cytokinins reverse the auxin induced inhibition of lateral
buds and counteract the apical dominance.
7. BREAKING THE DORMANCY
Cytokinins can stimulate germination and break
dormancy.
Cytokinin is effective in breaking dormancy of light
sensitive seeds like lettuce and tobacco and
promote seed germination.
Kinetin treatment breaks the dormancy of
gladiolus corm.
8. TUBER FORMATION
Cytokinins induce tuber formation and inhibit
elongation of stolons of potato.
Tuber formation in Begonia is also stimulated by
cytokinin.
9. CELL EXPANSION
Cytokinin promotes the expansion of excised cotyledons of several
dicots.
The mechanism is associated with increased plasticity of the cell
wall.
Cytokinins also promote cell expansion (although without proton
extrusion) in leafy cotyledons of some plants like mustard,
sunflower, cucumber, radish,etc.
10. INFLORESCENCE GROWTH
Cytokinins induce cell division in inflorescence tips. This leads to
more flowering which in turn yields more fruit.
Cytokinin oxidase regulates rice production (Ashikari et al., 2005).
11. ANTHOCYANIN SYNTHESIS
Anthocynins are flavonoid pigments which are responsible for the
red, pink, purple and blue colours in plants.
Cytokinin treatment increases anthocynin content in many culture
cells and tissues.
Example, In petals of rose, cytokinin application increases
anthocynin production.
Case study-I
Objective:
• Studies were conducted to induce proliferation of shoots using different concentrations of 6-
benzylaminopurine (BAP).
Conclusion
It was concluded that among the BAP treatment maximum number of shoots found in 20 mg/l of BAP and
number of root was obtained in media supplemented with 10 mg/l of BAP.
Case study-II
Objective:
• study was to compare the effect of different cytokinins on chlorophyll retention in B. argeteum
gametophytes grown in native conditions with those grown in in vitro culture.
REFERENCES
West, A.H., Stock, A.M. (2001). Histidine kinases and response
regulatorproteins in two-component signaling systems. Trends Biochem. Sci.
26, 369-376.
Gillissen, B., Burkle, L., Andre, B., Kuhn, C., Rentsch, D., Brandl, B., Frommer,
W.B. (2000). A new family of highaffinity transporters for adenine, cytosine,
and purine derivatives in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 291-300.
Hoch, J.A., Silhavy, T.J. (1995) Two-component signal transduction. ASM Press,
Washington, D. C.
Perraud, A.-L., Weiss, V., Gross, R. (1999). Signalling pathways in two-
component phosphorelay systems. Trends Microbiol. 7, 115-120.
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