9509189 Auer One group of plant hormones, the cytokinins, influence many fundamental aspects of plant growth including shoot, root and leaf development. The active cytokinins in the plant are delicately regulated by complex enzymatic metabolism pathways which also control cytokinin transport, storage and inactivation. While single-gene plant mutants have been used to study the biochemistry of other plant hormones, no cytokinin metabolism mutants have been reported in higher plants. In this project, Arabidopsis thaliana cytokinin metabolism mutants will be selected using a combination of biochemical and visual screening procedures. The cytokinin metabolism mutants will be used in plant physiology, biochemistry, plant development and genetic experimelts. In the future, this research will allow the genetic control of cytokinins within plants and the modification of agricultural crop plants to increase sustainable productivity.
