Mendel-200: Pea as a model system to analyze hormone-mediated stem elongation.

In a recent Review Article on Gregor Mendel's (1822-1884) work with pea ()-plants, it was proposed that this crop species should be re-vitalized as a model organism for the study of cell- and organ growth. Here, we describe the effect of exogenous gibberellic acid (GA) on the growth of the second internode in 4-day-old light-grown pea seedlings (, large var. "Senator"). lnjection of glucose into the internode caused a growth-promoting effect similar to that of the hormone GA. Imbibition of dry pea seeds in GA, or water as control, resulted in a drastic enhancement in organ development in this tall variety. Similar results were reported for dwarf peas. These "classical" experimental protocols are suitable to study the elusive effect of gibberellins (which act in coordination with auxin) on the regulation of plant development at the biochemical and molecular levels.