Table Of ContentBRASSINOSTEROIDS
BRASSINOSTEROIDS
Bioactivity and Crop Productivity
Edited by
S. HAYAT
Department of Botany,
Aligarth Muslim University, India
and
A. AHMAD
Department of Botany,
Aligarth Muslim University, India
SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V.
A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-90-481-6464-6 ISBN 978-94-017-0948-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-0948-4
Printed on acid-free paper
All Rights Reserved
©2003Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 2003
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2003
No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording
or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception
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and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.
Dedicated
to the memory of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan,
founder of the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
Contents
Preface ix
Contributors xi
1. The chemical structures and occurrence of brassinosteroids in plants 1
Andrzej Bajguz and Andrzej Tretyn
2. Selected physiological responses of brassinosteroids: A historical approach 45
Julie C astle, Te resa Mon toya a nd Gerar d J.Bisho p
3. Recent progress in brassinosteroid research: Hormone
perception and signal transduction 69
Martin Fellner
4. Synthesis and practical applications of brassinosteroid analogs 87
Miriam Núñez Vázquez, Caridad Robaina Rodríguez and
Francisco Coll Manchado
5. Brassinosteroids promote seed germination 119
Gerhard Leubner-Metzger
6. Brassinosteroid-driven modulation of stem elongation and apical
dominance: Applications in micropropagation 129
Adaucto B. Pereira-Netto, Silvia Schaefer, Lydia R. Galagovsky and
Javier A. Ramirez
7. Studies on physiological action and application of 24-epibrassinolide
in agriculture 159
Zhao Yu Ju and Chen Ji-chu
8. Brassinosteroids and brassinosteroid analogues inclusion complexes
in cyclodextrins 171
Marco António Teixeira Zullo and Mariangela de Burgos Martins
de Azevedo
9. New practical aspects of brassinosteroids and results of their ten-year
agricultural use in Russia and Belarus 189
Vladimir A. Khripach, Vladimir N. Zhabinskii and Nataliya B. Khripach
10. Brassinosteroids: A regulator of 21st century 231
S.Hayat, A.Ahmad and Q.Fariduddin
PREFACE
The entire range of the developmental processes in plants is regulated by the shift in
the hormonal concentration, tissue sensitivity and their interaction with the factors
operating around the plants. Out of the recognized hormones, attention has largely
been focused on five (Auxins, Gibberellins, Cytokinin, Abscisic acid and Ethylene).
However, in this book, the information about the most recent group of phytohormones
(Brassinosteroids) has been compiled by us. It is a class of over 40 polyhydroxylated
sterol derivatives, ubiquitously distributed throughout the plant kingdom. A large
portion of these steroids is restricted to the reproductive organs (pollens and immature
seeds). Moreover, their strong growth-inducing capacity, recognized as early as prior
to their identification in 1979, tempted the scientists to visualize the practical
importance of this group of phytohormones. The brassin solution, from rape pollen,
was used in a collaborative project by the scientists of Brazil and U.S.A. in a pre-
sowing seed treatment to augment the yield. This was followed by large-scale
scientific programmes in U.S., Japan, China, Germany and erstwhile U.S.S.R., after
the isolation of the brassinosteroids. This approach suits best in today’s context where
plants are targeted only as producers and hormones are employed to get desired
results.
Chapter 1 of this book (which embodies a total of 10 chapters), gives a
comprehensive survey of the hitherto known brassinosteroids, isolated from lower and
higher plants. Chapter 2 deals with the history of brassinosteroids with a physiological
approach. The recent progress in brassinosteroid research in relation to hormone
perception and signal transduction is discussed in Chapter 3. A summarized version of
the synthesis of several brassinosteroid analogs with structural variations, compared
with available steroids such as diosgenin, hecogenis, solasodine, solanidine and bile
acids comprises Chapter 4. Besides this, the main results relating to the application of
these novel phytohormones to plants under field conditions have also been discussed.
The use of brassinosteroids in seed germination is documented in Chapter 5. The
successful utilization of desired brassinosteroids in the in vitro propagation of plants
and their parts to manipulate the desired exposures has been explained in Chapter 6.
The possible mechanism of action and practical applicability of 24-epibrassinolide, in
agriculture, is covered in Chapter 7. An approach for enhancing the biological activity
of a brassinosteroid by involving its administration, as a guest, in an inclusion
complex of plant growth inactive compound, has been described in Chapter 8. Chapter
9 includes a summary of the results of field-grown crops supplemented with
brassinosteroids, obtained during ten years by agricultural scientists of Russia and
Belarus. Lastly, Chapter 10 covers some important aspects of plant metabolism that
determine crop productivity under the influence of brassinosteroids.
This book is not an encyclopedic review. However the various chapters
incorporate both theoretical and practical aspects and may serve as baseline
information for future researches through which significant developments are possible.
It is intended that this book will be useful to students, teachers and researchers, both in
universities and research institutes, especially in relation to biological and agricultural
sciences.
With great pleasure, we extend our sincere thanks to all the contributors for
their timely response, their excellent and up-to-date contributions and consistent
ix
x
support and cooperation. We express our deep sense of gratitude to Professor
M.M.R.K. Afridi who introduced us with this discipline and has been a great source of
inspiration. Special thanks are extended to Dr. B.N. Vyas, General Manager, Godrej
Agrovet Ltd., Mumbai, India, who was instrumental in leading us into this field of
research by gifting generous samples of 28-homobrassinolide. We are also thankful to
our departmental colleagues who helped us in the preparation of the manuscript.
Thanks are also due to Mr. M. Shakir who spent considerable time at the computer for
proper formatting of various chapters. We gratefully acknowledge the encouragement
and support of Mr. Naseem Ahmad, I.A.S., Vice-Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim
University, during the preparation of the manuscript.
We are extremely thankful to Kluwer Academic Publishers, The Netherlands
for expeditious acceptance of our proposal and completion of the review process.
Subsequent cooperation and understanding of their staff, especially Dr. J.A.C. Flipsen
and Ms. Noeline Gibson is also gratefully acknowledged.
We express our sincere thanks to the members of our family for all the
support they provided and the neglect and loss they suffered during the preparation of
this book.
Finally, we are thankful to the Almighty God who provided and guided all
the channels to work in cohesion and coordination right from the conception of the
idea to the development of the final version of this treatise Brassinosteroids:
Bioactivity and Crop Productivity, until the successful completion of the job.
S. Hayat
A. Ahmad
Contributors
A.Ahmad
Plant Physiology Section, Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University,
Aligarh-202002, INDIA
Mariangela de Burgos Martins de Azevedo
STQ - Scientia Tecnologia Química, CIETEC - Centro Incubador de
Empresas Tecnológicas, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes 2242, Cidade Universitária
USP, CEP 05508-000 São Paulo SP. BRAZIL.
Andrzej Bajguz
University of Bialystok, Institute of Biology, Swierkowa 20 B, 15-950
Bialystok, POLAND
Gerard J.Bishop
Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Wales Aberystwyth,
Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY 23 3DA, Wales, U.K.
Julie Castle
Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Wales Aberystwyth,
Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY 23 3DA, Wales, U.K.
Chen Ji-chu
Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology,Academia,Sinica,Shanghai,CHINA
Q.Fariduddin
Plant Physiology Section, Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University,
Aligarh-202002, INDIA
Martin Fellner*
University of Washington, Department of Botany, 407 Hitchcock Hall,
Seattle, WA 98195, USA
Lydia R. Galagovsky
Department of Botany-SCB, Centro Politecnico-UFPR, CP. 19031 Curitibia,
PR-BRAZIL
S.Hayat
Plant Physiology Section, Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University,
Aligarh-202002, INDIA
Vladimir A. Khripach
Institute of Bio-organic Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk,
BELARUS
xi
xii
Nataliya B. Khripach
Institute of Bio-organic Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk,
BELARUS
Gerhard Leubner-Metzger
Institut für Biologie II, Botanik, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, Schänzlestr. 1,
D-79104 Freiburg i. Br., GERMANY
Francisco Coll Manchado
Centro de Estudios de Productos Naturales. Facultad de Química.
Universidad de La Habana. Zapata y G. Vedado. C.P. 10 400. Ciudad de la
Habana. CUBA
Teresa Montoya
Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Wales Aberystwyth,
Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY 23 3DA, Wales, U.K.
Adaucto B. Pereira-Netto
Department of Botany-SCB, Centro Politecnico-UFPR, CP. 19031 Curitibia,
PR-BRAZIL
Javier A. Ramirez
Department of Botany-SCB, Centro Politecnico-UFPR, CP. 19031 Curitibia,
PR-BRAZIL
Caridad Robaina Rodríguez
Centro de Estudios de Productos Naturales. Facultad de Química.
Universidad de La Habana. Zapata y G. Vedado. C.P. 10 400. Ciudad de la
Habana. CUBA
Silvia Schaefer
Department of Botany-SCB, Centro Politecnico-UFPR, CP. 19031 Curitibia,
PR-BRAZIL
Andrzej Tretyn
Nicholas Copernicus University, Institute of General and Molecular Biology,
Gagarina 9, 87-100 Torun, POLAND
Miriam Núñez Vázquez
Departamento de Fisiología y Bioquímica Vegetal. Instituto Nacional de
Ciencias Agrícolas. Gaveta Postal No. 1. San José de las Lajas. C.P. 32 700.
La Habana. CUBA.
Vladimir N. Zhabinskii
Institute of Bio-organic Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk,
BELARUS
xiii
Zhao Yu Ju
Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology,Academia,Sinica,Shanghai,CHINA
Marco António Teixeira Zullo
Instituto Agronômico, Laboratório de Fitoquímica, Caixa Postal 28, 13001-
970 Campinas, SP, BRAZIL
*Present address: Institute of Experimental Botany,Academy of Sciences of the
Czech Republic, Slechtitelu 11, 783 71 Olomouc-Holice, CZECH REPUBLIC
E-mail: [email protected]
