Ethylene modulates root-wave responses in Arabidopsis

When stimulated to bend downward by being held at 45 degrees off vertical but unable to penetrate into agar-based media, Arabidopsis roots develop waving and looping growth patterns. Here, we demonstrate that ethylene modulates these responses. We determined that agar-containing plates sealed with low-porosity film generate abiotic ethylene concentrations of 0.1 to 0.3 muL L(-1), whereas in plates wrapped with porous tape, ethylene remains at trace levels. We demonstrate that exogenous ethylene at concentrations as low as a few nanoliters per liter modulates root waving, root growth direction, and looping but through partly different mechanisms. Nutrients and Suc modify the effects of ethylene on root waving. Thus, ethylene had little effect on temporal wave frequency when nutrients were omitted but reduced it significantly on nutrient-supplemented agar. Suc masked the ethylene response. Ethylene consistently suppressed the normal tendency for roots of Landsberg erecta to skew to the right as they grow against hard-agar surfaces and also generated righthanded petiole twisting. Furthermore, ethylene suppressed root looping, a gravity-dependent growth response that was enhanced by high nutrient and Suc availability. Our work demonstrates that cell file twisting is not essential for root waving or skewing to occur. Differential flank growth accounted for both the extreme root waving on zero-nutrient plates and for root skewing. Root twisting was nutrient-dependent and was thus strongly associated with the looping response. The possible role of auxin transport in these responses and the involvement of circadian rhythms are discussed.