Determination of selected dynamic quantities of growing intact seeds of maize

Plant growth and intracellular H+ ion kinetics are known to be strictly correlated, although the history of this discovery, which is known as the acid-growth hypothesis, has faced many difficulties and provoked a long-lasting discussion. Simultaneous measurements of the plant cell extension and pH of the incubation medium helped to defend the theory and together with some of the newest physics-based models, offered a new insight at the molecular level. This article focuses on both the biological and physical aspects of plant growth in the presence of endogenous auxin. Our aim was to circumvent the experimental and conceptual pitfalls associated with the standard use of cut and/or abraded coleoptile segments. Therefore, we simultaneously investigated the growth of intact seedlings of maize (Zea mays L.) and pH of the incubation medium. The growth rates were measured by applying a non-invasive technique that records time-lapse images of the macroscopic elongation of the coleoptiles, while changes in the pH were monitored using a pH/Ion meter. In the experiments, we intentionally introduced growth stimulators: indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), fusicoccin (FC), gibberellic acid (GA3), and a growth inhibitor cadmium chloride (CdCl2), in order to analyse the resultant effect of both exogenous and endogenous factors.