Short Peptides Induce Development of Root Hair in Nicotiana Tabacum

The study "Short Peptides Induce Development of Root Hair Nicotiana tabacum" found that the application of the amino acid glycine (Gly) and the dipeptides Glycylglycine (GlyGly) and Glycylaspartic acid (GlyAsp) at a 10−7 M concentration significantly increased the development of root hairs in tobacco plants. These compounds showed tissue-specific accumulation in various parts of the root and greater localization to the nucleus than to the cytoplasm. The study also found that these compounds activated certain genes (WER, CPC, bHLH54, and bHLH66) and suppressed others (GTL1 and GL2) during root hair lengthening. The study suggests that these compounds act as positive regulators of root hair formation and could be considered a new class of plant growth and development regulators. The study involved 20 seedlings for each treatment.