Poster: Oxidative Stress

Abs # 130: Physiological effects of paclobutrazol during plant stress

Presenter:	Frederick, Jessica M, frederick@dominican.edu
Authors	Frederick, Jessica M (A)   DeGiacomo, Anthony F (A)   Ghosh, Sibdas  (A)
Affiliations:	(A): Dominican University of California

A number of structurally related triazole derivatives are used extensively in agriculture and horticulture as both plant growth retardants and fungicides. Paclobutrazol [(2RS, 3RS) -1- (4-chlorophenyl) - 4,4-dimethyl -2- (1H - 1,2,4-triazol-1-yl) pentan-3-ol] is a triazole compound that has been under intensive investigation as a highly effective plant growth regulator in a wide range of agronomic and ornamental crops. Paclobutrazol (PBZ) induces a myriad of morphological, anatomical, physiological, and biochemical changes in plants via significant reduction of hydroxylation reactions required for gibberellin and sterol biosynthesis. We have studied the effects of PBZ on plant development, stress response and on some of the basic cellular processes that apparently underlie it’s mechanism of action. We report some of the more striking changes induced by PBZ include internode compression resulting in reductions in height growth and consequent production of more compact plants that have darker green foliage, higher chlorophyll and carotenoid contents, higher photosynthetic efficiencies, significant changes in the relative levels of endogenous plant growth regulators, delayed leaf senescence, increased resistance to environmental stress, and an enhanced capacity to scavenge and control the production of damaging species of active oxygen.