A Kinin in Apple Fruitlets

Abstract

Two challenging questions in developmental biology are the causes of the induction of cell division, and of the cessation of cell division. In plant tissues cell division may be aroused in response to treatment with diffusible substances collectively referred to as kinins¹. One might enquire whether the meristems are self-perpetuating, through an ability to produce or accumulate such a kinin^2,3. In asking this question our aim has been twofold : to learn whether the activation of the meristem is under the control of a diffusible substance, and to attempt to isolate and identify such a substance with the view of providing a means of chemically, and possibly commercially, controlling meristematic activity.