2015 Vol.56 (8)

Plant & Cell Physiology

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Perennial trees branch out with gibberellin

For many years, auxin, cytokinin and strigolactone were thought to be the main phytohormones controlling shoot branching, while the potential role of gibberellin had been overlooked. Ni et al (on pp. 1655-1666) report that gibberellin acts as a positive regulator of shoot branching in the perennial biofuel plant Jatropha curcas. This work indicates that unlike in annual herbaceous plants, such as Arabidopsis thaliana and pea, regulation of shoot branching in perennial trees is more complex and involves the interaction of gibberellin with other phytohormones.

Cover image shows an axillary bud in Jatropha curcas stimulated by co-application of gibberellin and cytokinin. Image supplied by J. Ni and Z.-F. Xu (University of Science and Technology of China, and Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences).